The Relapse Effect
by LOrenz0
Summary: Timelines are a funny thing. No really. In one of many, the Straw Hats find the One Piece, accomplish their dreams, and live happily ever after. In another, the same crew is mourning the loss of their beloved captain. In this reality, however time travel has a different victim to send to the past. Time-Travel AU (like really AU).
1. Chapter 1

**Hiya guys, it's your boy Lorenzo! Time-travel stories based on One Piece have always been fascinating, especially when done right. That being said, I hope I'm doing this one right.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The New Age**

He could make out the sound of deep breathing until he recognized it as his own. His limbs were numb at the moment and all he could do was lurch forward, but several ropes held in place. His senses worked fine however, and he could make out several sounds around him that brought up back to reality. The sound of rocking waves and the cry of seagulls invaded his ears.

A sudden laugh broke the silence. He recognized it immediately. It was a voice like no other. Zoro's eyes stung a bit as he opened them to the bright sunlight of the world.

He was in the gated courtyard of the Shelltown Marine Base and just like last time, he was tied to the same wooden post. In front of him was the man that he dedicated his life to. Luffy's signature straw hat covered his eyes, but didn't hide the goofy grin that he wore. Zoro chuckled silently. "I didn't think it would actually work," he said to himself. "She really sent me back in time."

"It's your call. Resisting the Navy will make you an outlaw. Unless you want to die here?" his Captain said, seemingly ignoring Zoro's murmurs. It was the same line that began their adventures together a lifetime ago.

Zoro lifted his head, his vision fully restored, and stared straight into his Captain's. "Damn right, I'll accept! There's no way I'm gonna die here!" This earned a shout from Luffy.

"Yes! I have my first companion!"

But something was very off this time. Luffy had a sword strapped to his back. As far as he knew, Luffy was no swordsman. But before he could question him, another voice interrupted.

"L-Luffy…" it said, sounding shaky. "T-they're aiming their rifles! They're going to kill us!"

Zoro noticed the boy standing beside his captain… and frowned. There was no mistaking this boy was Coby, his hairstyle and round glasses easily giving that away.

But the Coby that Zoro knew had _pink_ hair, not blue. And his haki felt different from the previous timeline as well.

As Zoro contemplated these thoughts, the Straw Hatted man answered the shivering Coby.

"Don't be stupid, stupid. I'm made of rubber!" he shouted with his signature laugh. The rifles fired, but Luffy intercepted all of them with his rubber body with a wide grin on his face and laughed once again as they all deflected off his body. "Coby, I'm not good with knots. Go untie Zoro while I kick their asses!"

Ok. Luffy _definitely_ didn't say that last time.

As Captain Axe-Hand Morgan noticed his men were muttering worriedly as their bullets bounced off the Straw Hat man, he grew angry. "Silence!" he shouted, the murmurings among his men dying down. "Everyone who just whined, I want you to put your gun to your head, and fucking fire! I will not tolerate cowardice within my ranks!"

The marines looked at their commanding officer and wondered if they heard him right. "What the fuck are you all waiting for?! That was an order!"

"Listen Captain," one of the marines spoke up. "We may be your subordinates, but we're not throwing our lives away on your whims."

Alright. That didn't happen last time either.

The soldier who said that was promptly crushed by Morgan's axe, the impact making a sizable crater on the ground. As he removed his weaponized arm from the bloody corpse, he grunted.

"Anyone else want to defy me?" There was silence. "Good. I'm giving you all one more chance. Make yourselves useful and charge at them! If bullets don't work, then dismember them your swords!"

" **Gum-Gum Whip!"** Luffy shouted as he swept the charging mob to the ground with his foot. "How are the knots coming along, Coby? We need to set sail at some point!" he asked casually.

"Almost done, Luffy!" As Coby untied the last of the knots, Luffy tossed the sword he carried to the freed swordsman. Zoro slowly regained feeling in his muscles as he stretched.

"Just one sword?" he asked confusedly, in which Luffy shrugged.

"You told me that was your only sword."

Zoro examined the ornate weapon. It had a black sheath with golden decorative marks. A velvet, red fabric wrapped the black grip and accented the dangerous nature of the sword. But what really threw him off was the wicked nature it pulsated with.

"This thing is as malevolent as swords come…" Zoro said.

As the squad of marines lay groaning on the ground, the infuriated Captain Morgan glared at the trio. Coby hid behind Luffy who laughed.

"Look what you've done to my men, pirate scum…" he growled.

"Uhhh…. Sorry?" Luffy said with a cocky grin. "I didn't mean to hit them that hard…"

"I'm going to _mangle_ you, brat," he said, emphasizing the word. Morgan unclipped his cloak and tossed it to the side.

Luffy cocked his fists, but Zoro held his hand out. "Let me take care of this, captain… I can't let him insult you like that and get away with it..."

Luffy grinned as he took a step back. His mind flashed back to the moment where Shanks saved him and Foosha Village from a gang of mountain bandits. "Just like Beckmann, huh?" he whispered.

Luffy couldn't turn down Zoro's request when he phrased it like that. He was slightly curious as to what his newest crewmate could do.

Zoro drew his mysterious sword and immediately felt the raw power flow through his veins. Visible, black mist flowed from the midnight black blade and disappeared into the air. Coby shivered faster and Luffy raised an eyebrow. Morgan hesitated as he took a step backwards.

" _This thing is much more sinister than any of the Kitetsu swords. I can't believe the bloodlust it radiates…"_ he thought as he brandished his sword at Morgan. Morgan, who regained his confidence momentary, gave a loud battle cry as he charged with his axe-hand raised.

Zoro only planned to send a small, blunt wind wave to incapacitate him, but a black wave with enormous width surged through Morgan instead. The ground shook from the impact and several of the unconscious marines were sent flying across the field as well.

"Like I thought. I'm not yet strong enough to control you completely…" Zoro said as he sheathed his sword. "I hope that didn't kill him."

Luffy dusted his hands together. "I guess that's that."

"Z-Zoro is scary!" Coby whimpered. "S-so scary!"

"And I don't think you did?" Luffy said quizzically.

"How can you tell?"

"Dunno. I just can... Kind of like a feeling thing. Now let's get food, I'm hungry!" Luffy said as he marched out of the marine base.

" _Did he just use_ _Observation Haki without noticing it?"_ Zoro thought. That was a worrying sign.

* * *

"Thank you so much for saving our town, Onii-san!" the little girl said as she tugged on Luffy's arm. Her name was Rika from what Zoro recalled.

"It was nothing!" Luffy shouted as he dug into a plate of food, Zoro joining in as well. Although he technically never really experienced it, he was supposedly tied to the post for 9 whole days.

Coby was brooding at the end of the table, visibly shook from recent events. The strength of his new friends was one thing, but actual marines _oppressing_ a town? That was as unthinkable as pirates being heroes. But both of those perceptions were shattered today.

As Zoro ate, he thought back on recent events as well, but decided to leave it for later. A few things may be different in this timeline, but he didn't care that much. He would have all his friends back and that's what mattered for now. He needed a talk with _her_ though.

"Hey Coby," he spoke up, startling the blue-haired boy in the process. He was a little curious about himself in this timeline.

"Huh?" he responded.

"Being stuck on a pole for 9 days straight might have affected my memory so I want to clarify a few things. First of all, how did I get captured?"

Rika answered him instead. "You killed all the wolves Morgan sent to our restaurant because we couldn't pay our taxes in time. Don't you remember?"

"And what about Helmeppo?" Zoro asked. This earned a confused look from Rika.

"Huh? Who's that?"

If Zoro was surprised, he didn't show it. Instead he simply dismissed it as a thought for later. "No one important, nevermind," he grunted. "Anyways, what did I do before coming to Shelltown, Coby?"

The boy raised an eyebrow. "You were an infamous bounty hunter, remember?" Zoro nodded. At least that part hadn't changed yet.

Coby continued after that. "They said you were hunting someone and followed them to Shelltown. I guess Morgan caught you after that."

Luffy decided to stay silent as he took in the information. Though he was actually too busy eating to talk, Zoro's situation kind of interested him nonetheless.

"Nuh-uh!" Rika shouted in response. "Zoro never got captured! When Morgan threatened to burn down our restaurant, Zoro offered to be tied to a post for 30 days so Morgan would let us go."

Zoro nodded again. And that part had stayed the same.

"When we came to thank you, you just brushed it off like you didn't care too much about it. You said you came here to wait for someone anyways," Rika said.

Zoro rubbed his forehead as he took it all in. Waiting for someone wasn't something that he'd do often. And there was no other reason for him to come to Shelltown. Bounties that he chased usually didn't travel that far out from his old hideout on Shimotsuki Village. That left only one explanation for his actions.

Somehow, the past version of himself actually KNEW Luffy was coming to pick him up and decided to let Morgan capture him. But the question was how.

The group was interrupted when several marines walked into the bar, gathering the attention of its patrons. Rika's mother also called for her who left for the kitchen.

"Hello, my name Lieutenant Ray and I am the second in command of this base after Morgan," he said as he bowed his head low, his subordinates did as well. "We are very grateful for your help in liberating the base, and would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts."

Luffy grinned. "Anytime."

Ray rose his head as his grin slowly faded away. "However, since you are pirates, I must ask that you all leave the island. Harbouring pirates is not something we can do despite everything you've done for us, but as thanks for your help we won't report you to headquarters."

Luffy nodded his head in acceptance, but his eyes turned to Coby whose face fell when Ray mistakenly associated him with the group.

" _I guess I'll never be a marine…"_ he thought, but Luffy put his hand on his shoulder to reassure him.

"Coby here isn't with us..." Luffy said and Ray raised his eyebrow in confusion. "I… picked him up on an island…" Luffy said in a measured tone. "He wants to join the Marines..."

Ray caught the lilt in his voice, but sighed and simply nodded. They had done too much for the island for him to outright deny a request like that. "I see. We'll leave the _recent_ past of his out of the application."

Luffy nodded a silent thank you to Ray as Zoro finished his drink. "We'll get going, I guess. Be a good marine, alright Coby? We're supposed to be rivals."

Coby met Luffy's eyes with determination. "Damn right I will!" he shouted into the sky, earning a chuckle from Ray.

"I guess this generation's recruits might not be so bad after all." Turning his attention back to Luffy and Zoro, he said, "We have a canoe for you ready to set sail. Please leave as soon as you can."

They both nodded and walked towards the door.

"Please wait!" a bar patron spoke up, and Luffy turned to face him. "I own a shipyard at the South end of the island. I can't let the saviours of Shelltown leave in a dinghy of all things! Please take one of my ships free of charge!" he said with a formal bow.

Zoro actually chuckled. "You're aid is greatly appreciated, Mister." This was a much better start to their journey than last time.

When the group, lead by the marines, arrived at the ship dock they prepared to say their final goodbyes. Zoro, however, couldn't shake this continued sense of dread that followed him as they left the bar.

"Don't forget us, Zoro-aniki!" Rika shouted. "Make sure you'll visit in the future!" Her voice brought Zoro back to reality, in which he smiled in response. Luffy was "preparing" the ship's rigging, another worrying thing altogether and they were almost ready to set sail.

"Promise," he said as he looked towards his captain who flashed him a thumbs up. As he did, the riggings he tied came undone and the sails came crashing down to the deck.

"We need some help, mister," Luffy said nonchalantly.

Ray sighed as his men boarded the ship to fix… well everything.

After a very stressful hour, the duo were ready to set sail.

"Bye, everyone!" Luffy shouted.

Ray actually ordered all marines to salute the ship as it sailed off into the distance, in which both Luffy and Zoro laughed.

"GRAND LINE, HERE WE COME!"

* * *

As night came, Luffy rested in his room. Zoro decided to take the nightwatch. He needed to test something. Thankfully, Luffy was a heavy sleeper.

In a motion that was as fluid as it was quick, Zoro drew and unsheathed his new sword.

" **One sword style: Great Dragon Shock."**

A mountain in the distance split in two. That confirmed he didn't lose all his power travelling back in time. But at the same time, it was a long way before he got back to his New World level of strength. He swore that, by the time he had previously arrived on Raftel, he could split the Red Line in two.

He sighed as he sat cross-legged on the deck and closed his eyes. Zoro traced a line from his left shoulder to his hip with his finger. In another life, that was his baptism into the Grand Line and a memoir of the lengths he'd have to go to catch up with the world's very best. The diagonal gash Mihawk had given him was no longer there. He was truly back in his old body.

" _Hana,_ " he called out in his head. " _Can you hear me?"_

A little girl appeared across from him in his head. Her dark brown hair and wide grin made Zoro smile as he recognized her. She waved at him.

" _Hiya, Onii-chan! Enjoying your new life?"_

A frown grew across Zoro's face now. He was surrounded completely by darkness as Hana sat down across from him.

" _This isn't the timeline I remember. Care to explain?"_ Zoro asked. Hana rolled her eyes.

" _I told you I only ate the fruit 2 days ago. Not my fault I'm not good at it yet."_

Zoro's stern look didn't leave her and Hana sighed, " _Look, I'm not a devil-fruit master and I guess separating the 2 timelines completely was a little too much for me to handle. Parts of your old reality are mixing together with this one and that's creating some... complications in the multiversal matrix… if you catch my drift."_

" _That means Luffy and everyone else could get all their memories back from my reality, right?"_

" _Who knows?"_ Hana shrugged. " _Luffy might. Blackbeard might not. Sakazuki might. Franky might not. Of course, the opposite scenarios could happen as well. It's hard to tell."_

" _What I get for letting a kid send me back in time…"_ Zoro grunted, in which Hana shot him a glare.

" _One more thing, I can only talk with you for about 5 minutes every week. That's the limit of my powers for now."_ Hana looked at her watch. " _And I guess that's the limit for this conversation as well. We've got 1 minute left. Anything else you want to ask?"_

Zoro nodded, before lifting his mysterious sword for Hana to see. Hana's eyes widened, before snickering.

" _I guess you really did end up in one of the better timelines. Well, see ya later!"_ Hana said as she flashed Zoro a peace sign.

Zoro opened his eyes to the darkness of night. They would arrive at Orangetown in a few days. Lieutenant Ray (now a fully-fledged Captain) actually had his men set the compass and the route for them. This wasn't the Grand Line yet, so as long as they didn't touch anything, the ship would sail straight into the island in a few days.

Maybe it was a blessing for Hana to send him back even if a few things were different than before. Zoro stared into the sky as he thought of his Nakama. This time, he'd protect all of them.

* * *

 **A/N: Although it might look Zoro-centric so far, that's not where I'm taking this story. This chapter is only meant to set up what's going to come in the future (or past, see what I did there?) As for why I would send only Zoro back in particular? Too many time-travel fics only send back Luffy, but I thought I'd switch things up a little with Zoro. He is the "guardian" of the crew, per se. It'll add a whole other dimension of character development possibilities if, you know, I don't blow it.**

 **Now, some of you may point out that Axe-Hand Morgan is a Lieutenant, and according to Volume 1 sitting in front of my desk, it very well does say that he's a Lieutenant. However, I'm just going with what the Wiki says. On another note, Captain Morgan is a lot easier to say than Lieutenant Morgan. You guys are reading the chapter in your heads, so it shouldn't really matter, but still it sounds weird, doesn't it?**

 **This is going to be one of my most fun and ambitious projects yet given anything can happen. Like Hana said, "When different realities mix together, there's definitely going to be some complications within the multiversal matrix," but you'll all find out more about her eventually.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys! I actually updated this story before I did with Reignition, and I feel kind of dirty about it. Like I'm macking on a side-chick while my main chick stays at home, wondering if I care about her anymore. I dunno if that makes me a bad person. Anyways while I'm on the topic, I'll probably work on 3 or 4 more chapters for One Piece v2, just to get the story rolling before I update Reignition. Otherwise, all of you will be stuck with 3 chapters till New Year's. Reignition's a tough girl. She'll survive.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Clowns, Among Other Things**

Day finally came as Luffy walked out onto the deck. Zoro was on night watch and grinned as he saw his old friend. Well, Luffy didn't really know him yet, but the camaraderie was still there. He actually raised an eyebrow as he saw the solemn look on his Captain's face. He looked visibly shaken.

"Captain," Zoro addressed, in which Luffy gave no response, further worrying him. Instead he sat down right next to Zoro on the deck. "Didn't sleep well, huh? Mind telling me what's up?" Luffy gave no answer yet again as he looked Zoro right in the eye.

"Zoro, can I ask you something real quick?" Luffy began. Zoro nodded.

"Have…" Luffy trailed off. He took a few seconds to gather his thoughts before he continuing. "Zoro, have we met before? Be honest with me."

Zoro furrowed his brow. "In what way?"

"I really don't know. I had a nightmare last night." Zoro froze up upon hearing this. He had an idea what his Captain dreamt about. "You… me… and a group of people were sailing together and I called them my Nakama… but I never met any of them before."

Zoro rubbed his chin in thought, wondering if he should explain everything to his Captain. Luffy however, continued.

"And then, there was this ice man.…" Luffy trailed off again. "This black haired women screamed at me to run. I refused before you and I, and this other blond haired man attacked him. He froze both of you and that's when I..." Luffy didn't continue after that.

"It was just a nightmare, Luffy." Zoro said comfortingly, as he smartly avoided confirming or denying his Captain's dream. "But if anything does comes up, we'll handle it. Both of us will watch out for each other." Sooner or later, he knew he had to come clean with Luffy, but part of him actually wondered when and how.

Luffy on the other hand let a small smile grace his lips. "Thanks, Zoro. I needed that."

"Just doing my job, Captain," Zoro said as he closed his eyes again in meditation. He sighed in relief. Aokiji may have been a bad start, but Zoro was glad it wasn't _the other_ memory that came up. It would be kind of difficult explaining Ace's death to a young Luffy who has yet to start his journey.

Luffy, having regained his positivity, began wandering the ship and crying that he was bored every few minutes. He had actually discovered the compass that Captain Ray _vigorously_ taped to the mast. "How does this thing work?" he asked aloud.

"Don't touch that." Zoro warned, but Luffy magically had the compass out of the tape in a matter of minutes.

"Wahoo!" he shouted as he held the compass above his head in triumph.

Suddenly, a seagull flew by and snatched it.

Luffy looked at Zoro. Zoro looked back at him. Luffy let out a nervous laugh. Zoro's glare hardened. For a few seconds no one said anything.

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

* * *

"So... hungry…" both of them moaned as they laid on the deck. They hadn't eaten in 2 days. Zoro occasionally boiled some seawater to fight dehydration, but nothing could quell their hunger for the moment. His haki wasn't strong enough to sense the closest island yet so they were lost in the sea.

"I'm gonna die before I even hit my first island…" Luffy yelped.

Zoro ignored him as he suddenly felt a _very_ familiar presence climb aboard the ship. _How did he not notice her sailing in until now?_

"Hello! Nice ship you've got there!"

Zoro sat up and he was faced with an orange haired woman sitting on the railing.

"You guys look like you need some help!" she said excitedly.

"Meat…" Luffy groaned, refusing to sit up. "Please…"

"That's okay. I'll take you to the next island. It's not too far from here," she said as she pulled out a map from her satchel. She dressed the same as she did the first time they met, but her hair had slight highlights of blue in it. Zoro kept his eyes locked her as she moved towards the ship's wheel. She didn't seem to notice.

"Why are you helping us?" he asked, his eyes never leaving her.

"Oh, I was sailing by in my boat..." she pointed to a small dinghy near their ship, "... when I noticed that yours hasn't moved in a while."

"What if we were just resting?" Zoro asked.

"Doubt it. You guys were screaming that you were lost."

"And if we were... pirates?" he phrased carefully.

Nami responded with a wink. "Not that big of a problem, I can take care of myself. Now let's get you guys to Orangetown!"

"Thank you," Zoro said after a few seconds of silence in which she returned a wide grin. Nami was skeptical person by nature. She wouldn't trust people, much less complete strangers with her life. Boarding a random ship in the middle of the sea was kind of counterproductive if that was true. Either she was planning to scam them once they arrived at Orangetown, or she had something else in mind.

* * *

The trio sailed in relative silence as Nami guided them to Orangetown. Thankfully, she carried some rations with her on the small boat she came in. That was enough to keep Luffy quiet for the rest of the journey.

She did introduce herself and ask for their names, however in which both Luffy and Zoro responded truthfully. Zoro didn't miss the slight frown in her expressions as he introduced himself, and it intesified when Luffy said that they were pirates.

"That's nothing much," Nami said, waving it off. "I'm a treasure hunter by nature so sometimes I've got to get my hands dirty as well."

Zoro nodded. He shot a look to Luffy, and his Captain didn't miss the message that he sent.

" _She's acting suspicious. Keep an eye on her."_

Luffy just nodded.

After a couple of hours, the trio arrived at Orangetown. As soon as they walked down the gangplank, Luffy casually stepped to the side as a cannonball whizzed by.

"That was close," he remarked absentmindedly as he continued walking. "Let's find something to eat, guys!" he shouted.

" _His battle senses are a lot sharper this time around,"_ Zoro thought to himself as Luffy continued to walk down the pier as if nothing happened. Zoro dropped the anchor and the group entered a nearby bar.

Nami's smile began to fade as they sat around the table. Both Luffy and Zoro looked at her with knowing expressions.

"Something's going on. Gonna give us the drop?" Luffy asked as he looked her in the eyes. Directly.

"Alright, don't take this the wrong way, but I'm happy you guys came here," she said as she raised her hands in surrender. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "I was sailing by Shelltown the other day when I felt an unnatural wind blow. Shortly after that, you guys left the town. That was no coincidence. I knew it was your doing."

Luffy looked at her with a bored face, not bothering to deny it. "And what does that have to do with anything?"

"A few days ago, this town was overtaken by the Buggy Pirates," she whispered. "There's no way I'm strong enough to take them on all by myself, so I need you guys to do it for me."

This time it was Zoro who asked. "And what would you gain from taking down Buggy? His bounty money?" he said loud enough that everyone could hear. The bar instantly put their conversations on hold as each patron stared at the trio. Nami winced as she noticed the amount of eyes on them.

She let out a heavy sigh. "I… have a soft spot oppressed towns. My village used to be ruled by a tyrant, but I got some help, so I guess I'm just returning the favour by helping another town."

She noticed a slight flinch in Zoro. Luffy didn't miss it either. The bar patrons looked at the trio and sympathized with them. They too would like to see Buggy's tyrannical rule come to an end. A few colourfully dressed men quietly left the bar, however and Luffy noticed this.

"Listen," Nami began. "Pirates or not, I was really hoping that you'd agree to partner up and take down Buggy and his gang. Help to free this town. Please…"

Both Luffy and Zoro looked around the bar room and every single eye was on them, all longing for freedom. They nodded to each other. Both picked up their drinks and downed it simultaneously before slamming their glasses on the table with an audible crack.

"Damn right we will!"

* * *

Luffy and Zoro actually had a sizable mob following them as they marched towards the Big Top, Buggy's ship.

"Yeah, get 'em!"

"Kick their asses!"

"No mercy!"

Various shouts came behind them as the trio slowly came to a halt. As Luffy was about to step forward, the Village Chief, Boodle held up his hand. Luffy grinned and let the old man do the honours.

"GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE, BIG NOSE! WE WANT OUR TOWN BACK!" Boodle shouted at the top of his lungs, which caused both Zoro and Nami to smile. Luffy was laughing on the ground.

The infamous clown began walking down to meet the mob. A large group of pirates followed, and his 2 officers, Mohji, and Cabaji joined Buggy's side. A wide smile was plastered on his face as the began juggling his knives.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Mayor," he said as his crew slowly began to chuckle behind him. "I think my hearing's getting a little rough. Do you mind saying that a bit louder?"

Boodle took a step back as did the rest of the townsfolk, Buggy's smile draining their confidence. That's when Luffy spoke up.

"That's Buggy?! I guess you guys weren't kidding about the nose."

This time Zoro didn't even try holding in his laugh. He had to give Luffy credit. His Captain looked genuinely surprised, but that's how he usually was with everything. Everyone else grew silent. The incredulous smile didn't leave Buggy's face.

"That's it, punk. You're dead."

As he finished, a gloved hand dropped out of the sky, the knife in its hand aiming directly for Luffy's head.

"Watch o-" Boodle began when suddenly Buggy was suddenly sent flying backwards into several crates and barrels. His disconnected hand motionlessly fell to the ground as Luffy rotated his shoulder cuffs.

"Don't. Touch. The. Hat."

An enraged Buggy climbed out of the heap. "Men! Kill them all!" he shouted as his crew charged with a battle cry.

Luffy looked back. Zoro wore a bored expression as he unsheathed his sword. Nami twirled her staff and winked at him. Turning back to the charging pirates, he raised his fist up into the air.

"Chaaaaarge!" he shouted while laughing as the townspeople, armed with pitchforks and guns did as well.

* * *

Zoro flicked the blood off of his sword as Nami went through every pirate's wallet. She then climbed aboard the Big Top to loot the rest of their treasure. Buggy and his crew were out unconscious as Luffy celebrated with the townsfolk.

"That was quite simple," Zoro remarked as examined his sword absentmindedly. Buggy was just as weak as before and it wasn't as difficult for Luffy to dispatch him like last time. Another bonus was that they also had the townspeople fight alongside them. Zoro took down Cabaji with ease while Nami did the same with Mohji and his lion, Richie. But that was the interesting thing...

"Jackpot!" he heard on the ship as Nami climbed off with a large bag. "10 Million Berries and that isn't even the best of the loot!" She held out a worn-out parchment that looked like a map. "A map to the Grand Line!" she shouted excitedly.

Zoro let out a small grunt in acknowledgement. Nami was definitely stronger than before, no question about that. While the swordsman duked it out with Cabaji- or dominated, either word worked- he observed Nami's fight with the lion tamer in case he needed to step in. The way she maneuvered and controlled the fight wasn't only out of the previous Nami's skill range, but out of most East Blue pirates in general.

 _"Either she has had a lot more run-ins with pirates than before, or there's something I'm missing..."_ Zoro thought. Maybe that's why she wasn't scared, but merely apprehensive when she first climbed on board? She probably thought to herself that she could take down both him and Luffy in case things got messy during their encounter. Zoro let the thought run idly before he chuckled. _She has guts. Much more than before._

Luffy was being surrounded by every person in the village, all showering him with praise and thanks. A few actually carried him on their shoulders as they marched towards the town square. Luffy, being... Luffy, happily obliged. Nami sighed and motioned for Zoro to follow them.

"Might as well keep an eye on him in case the town declares war on us..."

Right. That _did_ happen last time. And because of the same person. Zoro and Nami followed behind the marching crowd.

"We're finally free!" Boodle shouted as they reached the centre of the town. "How can we ever repay all of you?"

"Some food would be nice!" Luffy said which was met by hearty agreement from the townsfolk.

"Alright it's settled then! Let's throw these guys a party!" one villager shouted and everyone cheered.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading, drop a review, a follow, and a favourite (or do nothing as just checking this story out is fair enough) if you enjoyed this chapter. Some of you may be wondering if I'm going to basically have the Straw Hats steamroll everyone in this story like every other time-travel fic, and I will wickedly answer your question in a few chapters. Something big is coming. Stick around and see for yourself.**

 **Later!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: No, I am not dead. Though my ghost would probably tell you all if I was. I apologize for the month long update, but midterms are coming around and I can't risk my dad's belt for the fourth year in a row. Also I'm renaming this story "The Relapse Effect," cause I think it fits the story parameters better lol.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Past History Time Changes**

"Sit boy!"

The dog barked in response and sat down. It wagged its tail happily as Luffy ruffled his head. Throughout the party, Luffy and his crew met with each and everyone of the villagers, all praising them for their help.

"He's a good boy, isn't he?" the shop owner said as he scratched his dog. The dog let out a growl in satisfaction. "The name's Henry and I own the pet food store across town! I came to thank you guys for saving our village!" the man said as he introduced himself. "Meet my partner in crime, Shushu!"

Zoro let out a rare smile. The man had survived his disease in this timeline, and his bright personality gravitated smiles all around him. Luffy reached his hand out.

"Shake, boy!"

Shushu did as Luffy said and held out his paw.

"Good boy! Well nice to meet you, old man, but we've got to get going!" Luffy said as he began walking away. Henry hummed happily in response.

"You know, out of all the pirates I've met in my long life, you guys are definitely the best!"

Luffy chuckled. "You know it, old man!" He tossed some of his meat where Shushu sat.

The dog picked it up, paused, then dropped it.

"Woof!" it called out, and Luffy turned around to face the panting dog.

"Yeah, you be strong too, Shushu!" Luffy responded with a smile. After a final farewell, the group headed back to town.

"Wow, I never thought you could get along with animals so well," Nami commented.

"I'm not surprised. They're practically from the same species," Zoro added on, and Luffy pouted.

"Hey! The love of meat is universal!"

Zoro held his hands up in defence as they continued walking down the dirt path towards the party.

"So you guys are pirates, huh?" Nami asked, catching their attention.

"I wonder what gave that away," Luffy smirked sarcastically.

"Well the old man was onto something. Pirates aren't usually this nice. You guys are more like Marines."

"Ew," Luffy and Zoro said in unison. Nami chuckled.

"That means you'll be headed to the Grand Line, right? To find the One Piece?"

"This guy right here is the next Pirate King," Zoro said, catching both Nami and Luffy's attention. Zoro said it with such finality that even Luffy was a little surprised

"Confidence in your Captain, huh?" Nami smirked. "That's wonderful, but neither of you can navigate, let alone walk in a straight line without getting lost."

Luffy and Zoro flatly denied this.

"Well, as gratitude for helping me free this town, I think I can help you navigate the seas of the Grand Line… but I have a fee of 20 million berries for each island we land on."

"That much?" Luffy exclaimed.

"Hey, you're paying for quality. There's no better navigator in the East Blue than me!" she huffed out in pride.

"I guess the chance to draw that World Map is not enough of a reward, huh," Zoro remarked absentmindedly, which he regretted instantly.

Nami was stunned and her mouth was wide agape, while Zoro silently cursed himself for letting that slip.

"What... what was that?..." she asked.

Luffy, noticing his first mate in trouble, spoke up for him. "Oh that? We can just see it in your eyes, Nami. The drive to explore every crack and crevice that this world has to offer."

He held out his hand. "Your dream acknowledges Raftel as the endpoint, but that's not a problem to us. You're not going to find another crew that will sail as far as we will."

Zoro was as surprised as Nami. Luffy had just pulled that out of him and as Nami's eyes met his, there was no hesitation or doubt that could be seen. Just confidence.

Nami, for her part, didn't know how to respond. "I'll… have to think about your offer, Luffy," she said as she walked ahead of them into the town. Luffy didn't stop her, he just shrugged.

"We'll set sail tomorrow morning. Sleep over the idea, and let us know by the docks."

"Thanks, Luffy," she said as she bid them farewell. This left Zoro staring at Luffy intently.

"What?"

"Where the hell did you pull that one from?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Instinct, I guess. Well I'm going to join the party!" he said as sprinted to the nearest bonfire.

This left Zoro in deep thought. The "Pirate King" persona was merging with his latest reincarnation. Sooner or later, his captain would have all his memories back and would become a force of nature that could crush nations on a whim. Well, that was unless someone got all 4 Emperors involved.

But that could easily be solved if the rest of the crew got stronger as well. At their peak, the Straw Hats required the full force of the world to take them down. The idea that they were even stronger this time made their defeat seem unfathomable.

Once again, it all came down to being prepared.

* * *

Zoro was never the social type. Sure, he would party with his Nakama if there was something to celebrate, but he usually stayed out of the limelight. This is why he was training in isolated dockyards of the island with a bottle of sake in his hands.

He took a swig and sent another wind slash careening across the waves. His strength was definitely returning, but his armaments were still at his pre-New World level. His observation worked fine, but his body was too weak for him to maneuver like he used to. After all, Observation haki was useless if you're too slow to dodge. Physical training was what he needed to get back into shape.

And maybe he could meditate more? Try to get his preemptive observation back? The options he had were endless.

Then there was this whole thing about his new sword. He wondered how he ended up with it, and what happened to Wado Ichimonji. Zoro slowly unsheathed his black bladed sword and felt the familiar aura it gave off.

"What exactly are you?" Zoro asked his sword, who rumbled it response.

"I think I can help you with that, Onii-chan,"

Zoro turned around and met the eyes of the familiar child. She waved at him with a huge grin on her face.

"Hi, Zoro!"

"Hana," he said.

"You picked it up from a wandering swords merchant after leaving the dojo. Well, after that nasty incident with Kuina." This caused Zoro's eyes to perk up.

"What happened to Kuina? Is she dead?"

Hana waved it off, deciding to sit on a nearby rock. "Nah, she's fine in this timeline. Has great friends, a loving family… a strained relationship with you, everything!" she tacked on.

Zoro groaned. "What did I do?"

"Remember that promise about being the greatest swordsman ever? Yeah, that still happened. About a week later, you left to enter bounty hunting. Said it was the only way you could get stronger at that point."

"An 8 year old boy leaving to fight off pirates, huh? I guess I must have been pretty brave to start this early."

"How old are you now, Zoro?"

"19."

"And that's the problem. Before you left, she made you promise to come back after 5 years so that the 2 of you could test each other again."

Zoro's eyes widened as Hana continued.

"Either that terrible sense of direction got you lost or something, but guess who thinks you're the biggest coward on the 7 seas because you didn't come back"

"So Kuina hates me because she thinks I'm a coward?"

"Extra hates you. It's been 10 years, Zoro. Imagine the look on her face when she sees you again." Zoro sighed.

"Anyways, back to the sword," Hana said. "I have no clue what that thing is, but that…" she pointed to the sword, "... is crazy powerful. Damn, I could even feel it from the original timeline."

Zoro sheathed his sword at that point. The heavy aura that came with it disappeared.

"I don't know if you've realized this, but given your experience, and swordsmanship already, that thing puts you on par with an Admiral basically."

"I'll be even stronger in this timeline if I train, is that what you're saying?"

Rather than responding to Zoro's question, Hana flipped around and hung upside-down on the rock. "You never got the hang of the 3 Sword Style in this timeline. You can still try it if you want, but this version of you uses the 1 Sword Style."

Zoro hummed in thought. He took a few moments to process everything that Hana said. He was going to be on another level in this timeline, not that he wasn't planning to be anyways. He needed to protect his Nakama this time after all.

"Oh, before I forget," Hana said as she sat upright again. "You can try using your "original" attacks instead of these basic moves you mastered 20 years ago. I'm pretty sure your new sword can handle the stress."

Zoro took another drink from his sake bottle and set it down near a tree stump. He stepped towards the water's edge and his hand slowly traced towards the hilt of his sword.

" **One Sword Style: Continent Splitter."**

He felt a surge of power transfer from his body to his weapon and the waves rocked with the sheer power of the strike. A colossal blade of wind was produced and flew into the distance as Hana jumped for cover.

"What the hell are you doing, you dingnut!?" Hana shouted as the waves calmed down. "Are you trying to split the Red Line or something?!"

Zoro merely chuckled. "I didn't think I could pull that off this early."

Hana puffed and sat back down. "Honestly, I think you may have destroyed a few islands back there. Anyways, I'm glad no one saw anything."

"Uh…." came a sudden voice behind them.

Zoro and Hana turned to see the former's captain, holding 2 skewers with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Well, only one as the other was dropped to the ground in shock, but neither party averted their eyes.

Zoro was the first to speak. "How long were you standing there?"

"5 minutes..." Luffy responded, his mouth still wide-open. "I… uh… got us some food, and I thought you might want some, but then… uh… that happened…"

Zoro pinched the bridge of his nose as he groaned out loud. That meant his captain saw everything. He didn't come early enough to know about his past, but hell. How was he going to explain that flying blade attack to him? The concept of the attack hadn't hit them until Water 7, but by then all the crazy stuff that had happened made wind slashes pretty easy to digest.

But now he was dealing with a naive, go-lucky version of his captain who wasn't even close to seeing the world yet.

As Zoro thought things over, his Luffy picked up the dropped skewer nonchalantly, then preceded to continue eating it. "Alright then…we'll save that part for later. Who's the girl?" Luffy asked.

Hana thinking quickly, ran up to Zoro and hugged his leg. "Thank you so much for saving our village, Onii-chan! Please visit us again in the future!"

With that, Hana skipped away towards the village. That left both Luffy and Zoro standing in awkward silence.

"So, listen…" Zoro attempted to begin. He wasn't sure how to start explaining everything, but he was suddenly stopped by his captain. Zoro finally took notice of the object that Luffy unstrapped from his back. Zoro felt surprise for what felt like the fifth time today as Luffy held out a sheathed sword.

"I asked the shopkeeper for this. That wind blade thing that you just did. I want to learn it."

Zoro looked deep into Luffy's eyes, searching for any type of hesitation. His captain was serious about this.

"You want me to teach you how to use a sword?"

This came out as more of a statement, then question, but the resounding "yes" that he heard was one brimming with conviction that his captain showed in a rare few instances. Zoro walked to the tree stump where he set his sake bottle and finished it.

"Well, then captain. I hope you don't plan on doing anything else tonight," he said as he unsheathed his own sword as well.

Luffy grinned.

"Let's get started…"

* * *

Luffy's body ached. No really. It _ached_. When Zoro accepted his offer, Luffy kind of expected some sparring, katas, maybe hack a few trees here and there if Zoro was drunk enough. But this was humiliating.

"Every time you twitch, I'll hit you. That simple." Zoro said as he slapped Luffy's leg with a stick, moving it back into position. Zoro had him hold a basic swordsman stance throughout the night.

"Your stance is the most fundamental element of your swordsmanship, period." Zoro lectured as he slapped Luffy's sword arm back into position, who let out an "ow." "All of your attacks, defences, and movement stems from your stance. You fuck it up, and the scales will tip faster than you can blink."

Luffy grumbled, but was only hit by Zoro's stick once again. "How the hell are you hurting me with a stick? I'm made of rubber!"

"It's called the Haki colour of arms. I'll tell you about it lat- What the fuck did I say about not moving?!" Zoro shouted as Luffy was hit again.

Luffy let out a small whimper like a puppy that had just been kicked. His body may have been bruised all over, but he didn't bother to check. If he looked around, Zoro would only add another to his already darkened skin. The sun was rising steadily, which meant he had only another 5 minutes to go.

"God, if this wasn't training, I would have pegged you guys for watching one too many explicit videos," a female voice said with a giggle.

"Hi Nami! You're ba-" Luffy was struck down by Zoro before he could even finish the sentence.

"Well the sun's coming up anyways, I think I can let you go early." This lead to a loud cheer from Luffy as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"So miss treasure hunter, thought about our offer?"

"You guys don't seem so bad, and I can't refuse with everything that you guys have done for me."

This lead to another loud cheer from Luffy, which Nami expected, but emotionless reaction from Zoro wasn't. It was as if he knew she would join regardless. Or that he simply didn't care. Zoro's voice brought her back to reality.

"Welcome to the Straw Hat Pirates, then. As a general rule, we keep the captain away from the compass." Zoro said with a smile and a hand held out.

Maybe she really was just overthinking things. Nami returned the smile and firmly shook Zoro's hand.

The three were suddenly interrupted as Village Chief Bodum appeared sprinting to the group. "I figured I'd find you youngsters here. I want to see the swordsman for a second, is that alright?"

Zoro nodded as he stepped forward. "What is it, Chief?"

"Come to the village square. Buggy wants to talk to you,"

Zoro cast an eye over to Luffy and Nami who were both chatting amicably with one another, before turning back to Bodum.

"Lead the way."

* * *

"Roranoa Zoro," the Clown spoke as Zoro approached the separated body bundled up in rope. "You and me. Man-to-man, please."

Zoro nodded to Bodum, who understood and left the 2 alone.

"Alright, let's get the cat out of the bag. Who are you exactly?" Buggy asked.

That threw Zoro for a loop, but Buggy pressed on.

"I may not look like it, but I am one of the few people in history who set foot on Raftel. I've sailed the seas long enough to know crazy when I see it."

"What do you want to know?"

"I'm wondering why would a pirate who can easily take down Admirals is still in the East Blue. Not only that, he decided to follow under someone else. Lay the truth on me, I can take it."

Zoro sighed. He saw no reason to lie. Buggy could easily tell if he did.

"I'm from another timeline. And the man I'm following is the captain who hasn't realized it yet."

"Explains," was Buggy's response. "Listen, you have an otherworldly spark surrounding you, and whether he realizes it or not, so does your captain."

Zoro let his words sink in.

"I normally wouldn't do this, but I know the future King when I see him. Take my nose off."

"What?"

"Take my nose off," Buggy repeated and Zoro did what the clown said.

As Zoro did, it revealed a folded piece of paper inside.

"You've made it deep enough in the Grand Line to know what a Vivre Card is, right?"

Zoro nodded. He suddenly heard a loud horn coming from the docks and saw a marine vessel approaching.

"These guys are probably going to take me to Impel Down, but I have a plan to break free in a week or so. My crew and I will be in Loguetown by then. My number's written there as well. Give me a call when you can."

As Buggy finished, Marines began disembarking their ship. An officer, from what Zoro could guess, approached the duo.

"Roranoa Zoro the bounty hunter, correct?"

Zoro nodded. So this squad didn't know that he was a pirate yet. He wasn't about to correct them either way.

"Were you the one who took down Buggy the Star Clown?"

"Yes, I am," Zoro responded.

"Very well, then," the officer responded and a junior marine returned seconds later with a large bag of berries. "The bounty on the head of Buggy the Star Clown of 15 Million Berries, paid to the order of Roranoa Zoro for apprehending him," the officer said procedurally.

The officer then pulled out a bingo booklet and handed it to Zoro. "Mark it off."

Zoro reached into his green haramaki and pulled out a red permanent marker that he reserved for times like this. Taking the booklet into his hand, he crossed an "x" on the portrait of Buggy. He then took a small knife and carved 3 horizontal lines onto the page, his signature. With the formalities done, he handed the booklet back to the officer.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Zoro," he said as the booklet was exchanged for the bag of berries.

Zoro left without saying a word, but cast another eye at Buggy as the Marines loaded him onto their ship. He had a good feeling when they were going to meet again.

When he had returned to his Nakama, he noticed there were several villagers awake to see them off.

"Thanks for everything, guys!" Luffy shouted as he began to load the gifts that the villagers brought to see them off. Similar to last time, Luffy and Nami agreed to leave some of Buggy's treasure for the town. In return, the villagers brought them whatever they thought would help them on their journey.

The gifts ranged from food from the local farmers, to beads and charms from several village elders. A surprising gift was the donation of several cannons and swivel guns from the armoury, who had claimed they had enough weapons to fend off future attacks.

An enormous shout caught their attention.

"WAAAAAAIT!" they heard Village Chief Bodum shout as the elderly man sprinted down before the anchor was raised.

He tossed a small case of sorts at Zoro who caught it with a look of curiosity.

"It belonged to my father before he passed away. I have no idea what it is or how it works, but please take it on your journey! You youngsters will probably find it more useful than I ever will!"

"Thanks, old man!" Luffy shouted at the top of his lungs. "Let's set sail!" The ship sailed off amidst loud cheers, the rest of the village waking to see them off. This gave Zoro the opportunity to look inside the gift from the old man.

Zoro chuckled, he didn't think they'd get their hands on one this early. Nestled inside the the chest was a three-pronged Log Pose.

* * *

 **A/N: If you don't know what the three-pronged log pose is, check out the end of the Fishman Island Arc. Will save me the explaining.**

 **Thanks for reading, everyone! I hope you're all ready for another month long update! Ciao!**


	4. Chapter 4

**"The pain I feel now is the happiness I had before. That's the deal." -C.S. Lewis, quoted from Getting Over it With Bennett Foddy. I accidentally rode the Snake.**

 **Disclaimer: Me No OWn One Peice.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Rebuild, Redesign, Reclaim**

A quiet breeze blew across the ship as Luffy sat on its deck meditating in the night. He offered to take watch, claiming that Zoro needed some sleep, but the real reason was because _he couldn't himself_.

Luffy rewinded the day in his head with each breath. After leaving Orangetown yesterday, they sailed onto an island filled with bizarre animals. They were all pets of a man named Gaimon, who had been guarding the island's treasure for 20 years. When it was revealed that the treasure chests that he had been guarding were all empty, Gaimon surprisingly thanked them for the truth, and the Straw Hats sailed off in search of the next island.

The night was another sleepless one for him. Luffy hadn't actually slept since they first left Shelltown a few days ago. Call it whatever you want, but ever since Zoro told him that nightmares were just that; dreams, he was reluctant to speak to Zoro about them again.

But what should he do when the nightmares are so intense that rattle his soul? He thought back to his most recent dream, just last night in fact.

 _Blood. Fire. Bodies. Luffy couldn't believe his surroundings. A cough and a groan came from the body cradled in his arms._

" _I'm sorry I couldn't let you save me properly…" the voice said with a wry chuckle, but his heaving breaths told Luffy that he was anything but alright._

 _Luffy couldn't see his face, but he recognized that voice. It couldn't be._

" _My only regret is that I won't see your dream come true… but you'll get there… you're my brother after all..."_

 _He wanted to scream, call for help, anything. But all he could do was hold the limp body that was slowly dying._

" _I was good for nothing my whole life…"_

 _Luffy couldn't hold back his tears. The echoes of cannonballs, gunfire, and battle cries numbed his senses as the body slowly slid off of his arms._

" _Thank you guys for loving me!"_

 _With that said, the body went limp, rolling off of Luffy's shoulders. That was when his face was fully revealed._

 _Ace._

"NO!" Luffy shouted into the night, as a wave of power washed over the seas. The water rumbled in response and the sky broke into heavy rain.

Huffing and puffing, Luffy attempted to catch his breath as rain soaked the deck. His head slumped forward as he finished reliving his dream.

"What… was… that?" he thought as he looked to the sky. Did he do that? Whatever that was, adrenaline fully flooded through his veins. it looked like he wasn't going to sleep tonight either.

Little did he know, another figure sat sleepless in a room directly below him. _That was Conqueror's Haki._

* * *

"Good. Keep at it," Zoro said as he danced around Luffy's sword with his own. Weaving and parrying through Luffy's strikes, he sent a small wind blade in his direction. Luffy leapt backwards creating distance between them.

With Nami navigating the ship, this left the Captain and his First-Mate with an opportunity to spar.

"You're offence is improving greatly, Captain. How about your defence?" Luffy grinned before Zoro blinked to his location and their blades clashed again.

Zoro was fighting at a fraction of his usual power, but it was still a nice surprise that Luffy could keep up with him. Well, not really.

Luffy was by no means a genius in the traditional sense-in fact, Sanji once bluntly called their beloved Captain "as dense as a rock"- but Luffy always had an unbelievable prowess in battle. Quick and dexterous in the heat of battle, Luffy's calculated unpredictability had made him deadly on the battlefield. He never made plans prior to their battles, they were always made them up on the fly.

All these things factored into the sword style that Zoro decided to teach.

"Wudang Style," Zoro said as his sword clashed with his Captain's again. "It makes use of your agility, quick thinking, and the environment." By the time Zoro finished his sentence, Luffy had struck him 4 more times.

"The only weakness is that the strikes are often light, but power moves can be added if you practice enough. Your swordsmanship will only be as strong as you are capable of thinking," Zoro shocked Luffy as he disappeared in a blur appearing right in front of him.

"Like this, for example..." he said as his blade made contact with Luffy's, sending him crashing to the ground. "You've got to be at least 2 steps ahead. Think as you fight."

"I can always count on you to make anything homework, even fighting…" Luffy grumbled as Zoro helped him up. He was grateful for the opportunity to spar with his captain. Zoro had to adjust to the one-sword style given his previous use of three swords. Power wise, he was as strong as an Emperor, but his swordsmanship kept him at the level of a Vice-Admiral. Zoro waved him off before he set out to find Nami by the ship's wheel.

"Mornin'!" she greeted as Zoro met her with a smile. "We have an island coming up in about an hour. It's a settlement called Syrup Village, if I'm not wrong."

"Don't get us lost, witch," Zoro said as he began meditating on the deck. Luffy was off getting his fishing equipment he pawned off of a sketchy-looking character while they were still in Orangetown. Whenever they weren't sparring, or doing anything interesting, he could often find his captain sitting on the ship's railing with a rod in both hands and singing a horribly off-key tune.

"Lost is what you guys would be if I didn't join, Broken Compass," Nami shot back with her new nickname for the swordsman, A tick appeared on Zoro's forehead.

"NOT A CHANCE! YOU THINK WE CAN'T TELL UP FROM DOWN OR SOMETHING?!"

"Yes," Nami answered flatly. It was at that moment that Luffy joined the two on deck.

"Hey! Give us some credit!" Luffy objected taking his usual seat on the railing. "We were already halfway to Orangetown before we met you!"

"...You guys sailed 8 kilometers in the opposite direction,"

Complete silence fell on the trio of pirates as they each quietly reevaluated their life choices.

* * *

Nami entered the ship's kitchen to find Zoro… cooking...

"Uh… Zoro?" Nami finally spoke up as she got over her shock. "Can I talk to you in private for a second?"

"Unless you want me to burn the water, go bother the Captain instead." Zoro answered without facing her. Suddenly, his pot of water caught fire and a brief moment of silence occurred.

"...Yeah, I think I could use a break," he said as he motioned for Nami to follow him on deck.

"Luffy! Dinner is your job now," Zoro said and Luffy began packing up his fishing equipment.

"Well, you guys are lucky enough to experience my Grampa's famous fish stew tonight!" Luffy shouted as he carried his bucket of very, very, (very) unappetizing bucket of fish to the kitchen.

Zoro and Nami took a moment to shudder, thinking about the disaster that would be awaiting them.

"So, you wanted to talk to me?" Zoro started. Nami nodded.

"I'm a little worried about Luffy. He hasn't slept in days and I don't know why."

"Did you talk to him about it already?"

"No, not yet. I figured he would listen to you better." Zoro sighed at Nami's explanation. "At the very least if Luffy isn't sleeping tonight, do you think you could take the night watch with him?"

"I'll see what I can do."

If Luffy's dinner was interesting(?), that was nothing compared to the talk that Luffy and Zoro were having at the moment. Nami had called it a day, telling them that they should hit Syrup Village tomorrow afternoon before entering her room. Zoro joined Luffy on the deck.

"Can't sleep either, huh?" Luffy asked seated in his usual spot. Zoro gave no response as he sat beside him. "I'm sorry for worrying you guys. I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Nightmares again?"

"Yeah," Luffy responded. "Sometimes I can't tell whether they are really happening or if I'm just dreaming. They seem so real and I can't do anything in my dreams."

"And you're scared that they'll come true, right?" Zoro asked, looking Luffy directly in the eyes. Luffy met his eyes briefly before his head sank low in defeat.

"Yes."

This caused Zoro to laugh, catching Luffy off-guard. "Here's a simple solution. Take the nightmares as motivation and make sure they'll never happen. Now that we know your fears, we can work on overcoming them. All we have to do is get stronger."

This caused Luffy to pause. He had never thought of things this way. Maybe these nightmares had advantageous to them as well? It gave Luffy great comfort that he had a chance to make sure whatever was coming, he had the ability to steer its direction. _Maybe Ace wouldn't die after all? And the woman named Robin?_

"You're smarter than you let people think," Luffy responded finally. "I thought the only thing in your head was a broken compass."

Zoro scoffed, letting the comment slide. If it offered any comfort to his captain, then what the hell.

"If you're not sleeping, it looks like I've got to stay up with you in case you do anything stupid," Zoro said in which Luffy met with a grin.

"Crazy strong, sort of wise, and can get lost walking in straight lines," Luffy laughed, holding out his fist. For the first time this week, he felt the weight lift off of his shoulders. "I couldn't ask for a better First Mate!"

Zoro shared his captain's laugh and the two bumped their fists.

* * *

"Now why should we do that?" Luffy said as he cracked his knuckles. In a tree above him crouched a man in a green cloak and an ornate, wooden mask.

"Because I'll kick your asses if you don't! I will defend my village to the death!"

Zoro had to admit, he was slightly impressed. The previous Usopp would have shivered, and made outrageous lies in hopes of scaring them off. This version, while still nervous, was more confident in his skills and stood his ground.

And he actually ditched the slingshot. The man before them was looking down the scope of a highly customized rifle.

No one could predict that their day would begin with landing at the peaceful village of Syrup Village only to be stopped at the village gates. Luffy accidentally let it slip that they were pirates and the whole village mobilized to challenge them. Zoro flared his ominous Haki and drove all but one of the villagers back to their homes. Only "Captain Usopp" stood between them and the village.

A loud bang attracted everyone's attention as the man flinched slightly. Smoke slowly filtered out of the pistol that Nami held in her hand.

"We're not playing games here," she said ominously. _Make that two people who have grown a spine._

The man, who had narrowly dodged the bullet, nervously held up his rifle. "Do your worst!"

A sense of tension was in the air as each waited for the other to make the first move. Zoro looked on with disinterest as his eyes flickered to his captain.

" _What's the plan, Luffy?_ "

Luffy looked at Nami, then Usopp, then back to Zoro. " _Can you diffuse the situation? I want to talk to him."_ Zoro nodded in response.

"We invoke the rule of Parley," Zoro said as he motioned for Nami to drop her pistol. "Our captain wants to talk to you man-to-man. Do you accept?"

After a brief moment of consideration, Usopp nodded and both parties dropped their weapons. "Alright then, what do you pirates want?"

Luffy always had a knack for cutting tension, and this situation was no different. "Hey, you're Yassop's son, right? Want to join my pirate crew?"

No one could have predicted his response to such a sudden request.

Usopp simply shrugged. "Sure, why not."

Usopp had the state of emergency lowered in the village, claiming that there was no longer any threat. Unlike before, he actually seemed quite popular in the village as he was met with both gratitude and and relief. After that was taken care of, he excitedly offered to give the crew a tour of his village.

"Wow!" Usopp said shouted. "I can't believe you know my dad! And he's the sniper of the Red Hair Pirates?!"

"Yep!" Luffy replied enthusiastically. The two were alike in so many ways, it was unsurprising that they warmed up to each other so quickly.

"I always knew he was incredible! Do you think I could be as strong as an Emperor one day?"

"Who knows?" Luffy responded. "Never know unless you try."

It was mostly Luffy that did the talking as they walked. Zoro and Nami simply followed, and only asking the occasional questions.

From what Zoro gathered in their conversations, Usopp was the village's "guardian." His mother never died as his father caught word of her sickness and returned with a cure just in time, allowing this version of Usopp to grow up with a normal childhood. The Red Hair Pirates had to set sail briefly after that, but Yasopp had just enough time to teach his son how to use a rifle.

From what Zoro could tell, all of this happened shortly after Shanks had left Luffy about 10 years ago. He noticed that a lot of good people who met untimely deaths in the previous timeline were alive in this one. He wasn't one to smile that often, but this thought warmed his heart.

"Anyways, here we are!" Usopp proclaimed as they arrived at an enormous mansion. "Ever since I was appointed the village guardian, I took residence here." As Usopp guided them past the gates he continued, "There are some very special people I would like you guys to meet."

Usopp entered the mansion and was greeted with a large hug from a dark-green haired woman. "Usopp! Welcome home!" she said with affection in which he returned the hug.

"Hi Mom!" he replied with a warm smile.

A series of fake coughs came from the group in which Luffy threw in the words "momma's boy" amidst his fit. This earned a glare from Usopp, in which his Luffy bursted out laughing.

"This is my mother, Banchina!" he introduced, in which she waved at the group with a bright smile.

"Are these your friends, Usopp?" she asked in which he nodded. "Yep. They're inviting me to join their Pirate crew."

"You're leaving already?" came another voice who entered the room.

"Kaya!"

"It's fine, Usopp. You've always wanted to follow in your father's footsteps, right? There's no better time to leave than now."

"Thanks, Kaya!" he said as he walked over to hug the other woman. "Take care of my mom for me, alright?"

"You got it, Usopp," she replied. "I only have one request before you sail off. A few kilometers from here, there's a pirate base that's threatening our village and our warriors aren't strong enough to deal with them on their own. Can you and your crew clear it out before you leave?"

"You betcha!" he shouted with pride, pumping a fist in the air.

"Thank you so much, Usopp. I'll have Merry take you to the Going Merry. Good luck on your journey!"

After a series of heartwarming goodbyes, Merry, Kaya's butler guided them to the docks on the other end of the island.

"It's not much compared to the higher-end ships, but it can outrun your old ship anytime," he said as he took them on board to show them around. "As we are giving you our only naval vessel, I only ask that you give us your old ship. Don't worry, you'll see improvements in sailing immediately."

As Merry was finishing his tour of the Going Merry, Zoro took the time to admire everything about their old home, from the red and white striped rear sail, to the familiar sheep figurehead on the mast. She probably wouldn't make it past Water 7 like last time, but he was do everything he can to keep Merry sailing as long as possible.

"Once you defeat the pirates, you can keep sailing onwards. We'll take care of everything else," Merry said with a large smile and a formal bow.

"Who are the pirates that we'll be fighting?" Nami asked.

"They're called the Black Cat Pirates. They're lead by the notorious Captain Kuro and their base is a few hours from here, north-north west. We have caught word that they might attack our village in a few days, so please hurry."

"You can count on us, Sheep-ears!" Luffy shouted. "We'll kick their asses!"

"Thanks for everything, Straw Hats. We definitely owe you one." Merry then said something that confused all the Straw Hats as they sailed off. "And good luck on your journey, Pirate King. There's no better time for you to reclaim your throne."

While they all celebrated Usopp's induction into the Straw Hat Pirates, no one could shake off his words. Least of all, Luffy, who's mind wandered around the idea throughout the day.

* * *

 **A/N: If anyone feels that the Syrup Village Arc was a little rushed, it's only because I feel the only interesting part was the confrontation between the Straw Hats and the Black Cat Pirates, which should be coming up next chapter. If anyone wants to see more of Kaya, or Banchina (Usopp's mom), I'll have them appear in later chapters. Otherwise, please feel free to review, follow, favourite, or flame. Idc lol.**

 **I also plan on making this fist-bumping thing between Zoro and Luffy their official "bro thing."**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: What makes my time-travel story different from the others? Well, simply put, I feel like the others are too one-dimensional and linear. They will often follow certain events exactly like the original save for some "new powers," or "better fighting mechanics."**

 **Mine? I have no set boundaries nor do I have any standard to follow aside from the storyline itself. And even then, I'll mix things up a bit such as having Blackbeard show up full power at the Baratie Saga (oops?) You guys will never know.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Relapse I**

"Come on, Usopp! Get it off your chest!"

Usopp heaved a heavy sigh, then at the top of his lungs, he shouted out to the sea: "I've never told you this Kaya, but I have a crush on you!"

"There we go!" Luffy encouraged as he patted him on the back. "And if you die now, at least you won't take that to the grave! That's one less regret you have in your life!"

Usopp heaved another sigh. Whether that was one of relief or shame was something else. The week had been nothing but ups and downs with a healthy dose of insanity. As the long-time guardian of Syrup Village, he had a much overdue week off… then the Straw Hats showed up.

Now don't get him wrong; he REALLY liked this crew even if it only had 4 members including himself. But he never actually had a chance to confess to Kaya before the Straw Hat Pirates dragged him away from the island he was sworn to protect. The island was in good hands now, but his heart wasn't.

Which is exactly why Zoro and Luffy (with healthy encouragement from Nami) had him try the "River Shouting" technique.

"Sometimes you give me food poisoning, but that will never change my undying love for you, meat!" Luffy shouted over the ship's railing.

"I get lost walking in straight lines! I realize now that I have no one to blame but myself!" Zoro shouted as well. Honesty was key to this exercise apparently.

"Sometimes my greed gets the better of me, but that's not to say the payoff isn't worth the risk!" shouted Nami who followed suit with everyone else.

"Cool!" said Luffy as he stretched out his arms. "Glad we got that out of the way!" The Going Merry, at the insistence of Zoro, had a number of new features added that made her different from her previous self. The first of many could be seen as the Straw Hats sat around a round meeting table where a lemonade machine was placed in the centre.

"So tell me," Usopp said as he took a sip from his cup. "When you said that you'd be the Pirate King, did you really mean it?"

"Damn right."

"And Zoro knows what he's getting into when he said that he'll be the world's greatest swordsman one day?"

"Right."

Usopp hummed in thought. Outwardly, he held a calm face, but he felt nothing but skepticism. He was no stranger to ambitious goals given the lofty expectations placed on him by his father… but still.

"We know what you're thinking," Luffy said as he took a sip. "But these dreams grew out of promises to our friends. There's no way in hell we'll back down, even if it means death.

This almost brought a tear to his eyes. What Usopp once held as skepticism grew into nothing but respect and admiration. "Well, damn," was all he could muster in response. "What about you?" he asked, his attention now diverted to Nami.

"I want to draw a map of the world," she answered with a smile. "Not as dangerous, but just as ambitious as these two idiots. This is the perfect crew to join if you've got dreams as wide as your imagination."

"So what's your story?" Zoro asked Usopp as he kicked his feet up on the table. Given every event that he experienced so far in this timeline, he knew there was bound to be some differences even in his crewmates.

"Where do I begin?" Usopp said as he set his cup down. "I'm the son of a retired Portmaster and an officer from one of the 4 Emperor's crew. My parents Bachina and Yasopp lived together until my father was called back to the Grand Line just a few years ago. He still calls from time-to-time, but it's mostly been me and my mother."

"And the whole "Syrup Village Guardian" thing?" Nami asked.

"Well, yeah. A few months ago, the World Government announced that they were no longer offering protection to our island."

"Fucking rats, all of them," Zoro commented in which he earned nods from the table.

"I trained with my father everyday until Shanks called for him back. I was the only warrior capable of defending the village from that day on. And… that just about sums up everything until you guys got here."

Zoro nodded in acknowledgement. When he reached out to Usopp's Haki back when they first met, he could tell that he was a pretty competent warrior. He was a shell of his father's presence, but there was no doubt that, given enough time, Usopp was perfectly capable of setting out on his own.

"Kaya told me a bit about this "Black Cat Pirates" gang a while ago. She said that the captain used to be a butler of hers until he was revealed to be a pirate. We were still under Marine protection back then, so he couldn't do anything but run."

A cannonball suddenly whizzed by the table, embedding itself into the wall behind them.

"Well it doesn't look like they plan to do a lot of running today," Nami commented as a largely forested island slowly came into view. There were several cannons mounted on the beaches, all firing upon their ship.

Zoro quickly unsheathed his sword and cut the many cannonballs in half. As the crew all stepped up to battle, Zoro held up his hand. "I've got this guys."

He closed his eyes and drew on the familiar energy that rose within his body. With force, Zoro swung his sword in an upward arc towards the island.

" **One Sword Style: Dragon Twis-"**

" **One Sword Style: Wicked Winds..."** a voice suddenly finished in his mind. Zoro's eyes raised in surprise as instead of the large tornado that he was used to seeing, several black wisps of wind flew towards the island.

The entire crew, including Zoro, felt a slight shiver as an ominous feeling flew by and disappeared as quickly as it appeared. In a split second, the cannonfire on the beaches had stopped.

As Zoro sheathed his sword, the took notice of the dumbfounded expressions on his fellow crewmates. "Let's dock," he said authoritatively before anyone else could comment.

* * *

As the crew disembarked, Zoro could feel the fear radiating off his friends. It was less profound in Luffy, but it was definitely there in Usopp and Nami, and as he looked at the scene before him he could definitely see why.

Hundreds of dried bodies littered the sands, all with expressions of horror and fear etched into their faces. Not a single one of them was alive, as if their souls had been ripped from their flesh. Zoro looked down at his sheathed sword and a purple aura flickered briefly. A sinister laugh echoed in his mind as he returned his attention to their mission.

"So… um…" Luffy began. "Pirate bases are usually deeper in the island so we should probably be heading there, right?"

"Uh… yeah," Nami finished lamely. "Let's… uh… go there…"

The journey had been awkward given the recent display of Zoro's abilities, so silence reigned as the Straw Hats slowly made their way inland. They encountered several ambushes along the way, but Usopp and Nami handled them well enough. They finally came to a stop in front of a small camp with large, sharpened logs as limites.

And there were several hundred more pirates looking towards them as they looked on undeterred.

"The Guardian of Syrup Village, Usopp," a voice came from within the crowd. The pirates slowly parted way as the voice got closer. "It's a pleasure to see that you have all grown up now."

"Klahadore," Usopp acknowledged. As the pirates continued to step aside, a man in a tuxedo and circular glasses finally came to the forefront of the crowd. His sharp claws shined menacingly as he came to a standstill.

"You can still call me that name if you'd like, but it means nothing to me now," Kuro said. "Though I doubt you and your little crew have the courage to face me if they knew what happened the last time you challenged me!"

He laughed loudly into the sky. "The marines aren't around to save you this time, sniper boy…" Kuro said with a sinister grin.

A rubber fist suddenly collided with his face, sending him flying backwards. He bounced off of the ground a few times before finally coming to a standstill in a crumpled heap.

"You can't attempt murder on my ward and expect to get away with it, Klahadore…" Usopp growled. "Luffy, this is between me and him," he said as he looked back towards his captain. "Let me take him on."

Luffy nodded as he checked his wrist. "Then that means the cannon fodder is all ours to take! Give the Cat Lady hell!"

A growl interrupted their conversation as Kuro stood up. His hair was disheveled and his glasses were broken, but a large bruise could be seen on the side of his cheek. "When I'm done with you four, there will barely be enough pieces left to feed the minnows!" he growled angrily. "Men! Disembowel them!"

* * *

The Black Cat Pirates, to use an apt simile, were like blades of grass standing in front of the lawnmower that was the Straw Hat Pirates. Zoro merely toyed with his opponents, letting Luffy and Nami do most of the fighting, which they clearly didn't mind.

Nami weaved through crowds of pirates with her bo staff colliding with many of their bodies. If Zoro payed her any less attention, he could have sworn Nami was using Observation Haki with near perfection. She moved fluidly with no movements wasted in between strikes.

Luffy on the other hand… well, he quite simply crushed any group that dared approach him. Due to the nature of his powers (and the fact that Zoro simply had no intention of fighting seriously), Luffy had already taken out a majority of the pirates.

" **Gum-Gum Battle Whip!"** Immediately, a squadron of pirates were swept off their feet. Luffy leapt into the air and followed it up with another attack.

" **Gum-Gum Heavy Rain!"** he shouted loudly as the downed pirates were bombarded with fists from the sky. Zoro was actually impressed by the diversity in his Captain's move-set so early on in their journey. At this point, he seriously doubted any pirate in the East Blue was capable of putting a scratch on him. Well, there was always the off-handed chance that they meet a Logia Devil-Fruit user, but Luffy always had a knack for Armaments.

Within the half-hour mark, the crew that was the Black Cat Pirates were either unconscious on the ground, or otherwise. The only 4 of the ruined crew left standing were Kuro, the hypnotist Django, and the 2 Siam brothers Buchi and and Sham. Usopp and Kuro clashed once more, steel claws meeting steel rifle, before the 2 leapt backwards to the sides of their crew.

"I don't think we can win this one, captain," Django said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "They're just too strong!"

"Calm down, Django." A loud _clang_ was heard as Kuro sharpened his claws off of each other. "We still have the upper hand…"

Django smirked. "The Silent Movement technique..."

"Exactly," Kuro said as he crouched low with both arms held out to the side. "Usopp's mine. You three take care of the others."

"I've got the skinny one!" shouted Nami as she charged forward towards Siam.

"Fat one's mine!" Zoro said as he followed right behind.

"Dibs on the weirdo!" laughed Luffy as he joined the battle once again.

Usopp was left staring at the crouched form of Kuro alone. For a second, no one moved.

"I can feel the fear coming off of you, boy," Kuro said, still not moving. "Secretly, you want to turn around and run. Well go ahead, then. I'm not going to stop you. Pirating isn't a game for children."

"Sorry," Usopp finally responded. In a split second, his rifle was loaded and aimed at the prone form of Kuro. "No offence, but my Navigator scares me more than you do."

"It's a shame this battle could have ended with one less life lost…" And with that, Kuro disappeared into the wind. Before Usopp could react, he was sent stumbling backwards with 3 claw marks on his chest.

"My Silent Movement technique allows me to move at the speed of sound," he heard the wind whisper. "Quick. Silent... And lethal," Kuro spoke again as Usopp fell forward. 3 claw marks appeared on his back this time.

Kuro was visible again as Usopp struggled to his feet. "I gave you a chance to run, Usopp, and now you will suffer the consequences."

Kuro was slightly caught off guard as Usopp began laughing. This only made him angry.

"What's so funny?!"

Usopp smirked. "I may not be able to react fast enough when you use that speed technique of yours…" He pointed 2 fingers at his eyes. "But these things can still see you."

"Liar!" Kuro shouted as he disappeared once more, only this time, as he was about shred Usopp to pieces…

 _Bang!_

Kuro coughed up blood as he fell backwards. His eyes widened in surprise as he felt the area above his right chest. _A bullet._

"I told you. I can still see you. And while I can't move in time to dodge your attacks, my draw is still the quickest in the Grand Line."

Zoro overhead Usopp's statement and couldn't help but to wonder whether Usopp knew that he was _actually right._

"I don't know about you 2," Zoro said to Luffy and Nami who were both in their respective battles. "But I'm ending my fight right here!"

Zoro tightened his grip on his sword as he prepared to unleash another attack. He had nothing against Buchi so he silently prayed that the voice he heard earlier did not reappear. And to his surprise, it actually didn't.

" **One Sword Style: Sea Dragon Water Stream!"** he called out as he passed through Buchi with the blunt end of his blade. The large cat man fell down unconscious.

"Same here!" Nami shouted out as she sidestepped one of Siam's swipes. With a sweep of her staff, he was knocked to his feet. She finished him off with a powerful jab to his chest. Siam didn't get up after that."

Kuro growled as he finally got to his feet. He only grew angrier when he saw that the only crewmember he had left standing was Django, and even he was struggling against the Straw Hat captain.

Everyone's attention was diverted to Luffy as he gave an unholy shout to the sky. With 2 hands, he pounded the ground, creating a small crater. All eyes grew wide as Luffy slowly began… inflating?

Everyone was slightly confused, except for Zoro to recognized it for what it was. Luffy's body swelled up as he started hovering above the ground.

" _Gear Fourth: Bouncing Man…"_ Zoro whispered. _Where did he learn that from?..._

"Huff… Huff… Huff…" Luffy started panting with slow breaths. "I can't… I can't believe I pulled it off…" he said between massive breaths.

"Usopp! Nami! Back up!" Zoro shouted out loud as they steered clear of Luffy who cocked his fist high into the air.

" **Gum… Gum..."** Luffy panted. " **Quake Gun!"**

The entire island shook.

* * *

There was no way for Usopp to describe it. The closest comparison that he could think of was that of a meteor striking the island.

Nami was by no means an expert geologist, be she could have sworn the island sunk a few meters into the sea.

"Is everyone alright?" Zoro asked as he observed the landscape before him. Countless trees were uprooted, and he could still see remnants of the island (and unconscious bodies of the Black Cat Pirates) flying off into the sky. When the approached where the battlefield was, only Kuro was left standing, though he immediately fell to his knees. His second-in-command was left unconscious... in a large crater.

"What… are you?" he whispered as he fell to his knees. From the looks of it, Luffy kept his promise and didn't lay a hand on him.

"Monkey D. Luffy, the Pirate King," Luffy said as Usopp slowly approached the kneeling Kuro and knocked him unconscious with the butt of his rifle as his captain finished. "And don't you forget it."

A brief moment of silence occurred as Luffy stretched out his arms. "Well, I guess that's everything!" he laughed to the bewildered expressions of his crew. "Hey, let's go loot their ship!" he called to them as he marched jollily on the path in which they first came.

"Right! Let's see if they've got anything valuable!" Usopp shouted. "I mean they're Grand Line pirates! They've got to have some loot!" he said happily following suit. Nami's eyes fluttered at the mention of the word "valuable" and she quickly fell in line behind Usopp.

Zoro wordlessly followed behind them.

* * *

 **A/N: I hereby challenge each and everyone of you to do the "River Shouting" technique in the reviews.**

 **I'll start:**

 **I SHAMELESSLY HAVE A CRUSH ON AIN FROM THE ONE PIECE FILM Z SAGA! I THINK SHE'S ONE OF THE PRETTIEST CHARACTERS INTRODUCED SO FAR!**

 **Phew. Had to get that off my chest.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I actually had this thing written last week, but was too busy streamlining some of my stories and doing "manly" things. Direct your hate into the reviews.**

 **Also, I'm planning on making the "River Shouting" technique an initiation rite for all future Straw Hats. Let me know what you guys think.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Love Backwards Is Evil**

As the Straw Hats slowly trekked their way out of the jungle (or what was left of it), most of the tension from earlier had definitely disappeared. Each member made conversations, jokes, insults, or whatever came to mind as they chatted along the way.

"Can you guys please slow down?! My legs are tired from fighting the cat lady!"

"Oh suck it up, Usopp," said Nami, not giving the sniper any attention. "We're all tired, but only you're complaining," she said looking at Luffy who was slumped over Zoro's shoulders.

Zoro thought it was odd when Luffy recovered so fast after using Gear Fourth, especially this early in their journey. Well it turns out that during the brief 5 seconds after the battle, their captain was running purely on adrenaline. His captain could barely twitch, let alone move at the moment. But they both agreed that they would talk about this later. Privately.

"I'll let you all know that I have suffer from inabilitytowalklongdistances-itis!"

"Bullshit..." Luffy murmured. _Great. Even the captain was getting in on this._

* * *

The crew returned to the beach where they dropped anchor earlier to find the ship of the Black Cat Pirates, alone and crewless. Luffy had recovered enough at this point to walk on his own, but he still carried a slight limp from overexerting himself earlier. No one said a word as they passed by the lifeless bodies that remained on the sands.

"Alright, guys," Usopp spoke up as they climbed on board. "The ancient laws of piracy states that only treasure shall be taken if a crew is to be left alive. We didn't kill Kuro, nor the pirates on the main base so food, water, or medicine is to be left alone 'less we wish the wrath of the seas upon us."

Everyone agreed. While they were slightly skeptical of their supposed ill fate, none of them could deny that honour was just as important as the treasure itself. Pirates were sketchy figures by nature, but even the worst of them followed some sort of code.

" _Of course there are always exceptions like Teach,"_ Zoro thought as he loaded several chests on board the Merry.

And of course, "treasure" was always in the eye of the beholder. At least that was Luffy's argument as he made away with the ship's figurehead.

Usopp decided that his room needed a new solid-chrome porthole.

Nami stole a door with jewels decorating it.

But the important thing was neither the food, water, nor the medicine had been touched.

"Are we bad people?" Luffy asked innocently as mounted his "loot" above his bed.

"No," came Nami.

"Yes," came Zoro.

"No," came Usopp.

"That settles it, then!" Luffy laughed. And so the honour of the Straw Hat Pirates survives another day.

The Straw Hats were in the midsts of their second round of looting if not for a few choice people showing up.

"Halt! Pirates!" a loud voice caught their attention.

" _Oh, you've got to be kidding me…"_ Zoro thought as he took notice of the source. Two _very_ familiar looking bounty hunting brothers.

"Are you members of the Black Cat Pirates?! We'll take you guys down!" the one called Johnny shouted as he leapt from their dinghy boat... well it was more of a cramped canoe really.

"Come on now!" the other one said. "You sea thugs are gonna feel the wrath of the bounty hunting brothers Johnny and Yosaku!"

The two raised their swords at the crew as the Straw Hats stared at them incredulously. For a second, no one made a move.

Luffy picked up a rock. Confused faces appeared on both sides. He looked at the rock, then up to the duo, then back to the rock.

Luffy threw it. _Clonk_.

Yosaku went down.

"Bastard!" Johnny shouted. "How dare you do that to my brother!? Well you're not going to finish me off so easily!"

Luffy looked at him incredulously before wordlessly picking up another rock from the sands. Zoro sighed. He better step in before this got out of hand.

"Johnny? Yosaku?" Zoro spoke up, catching Johnny's attention. "Is that you guys?"

"Brother Zoro!?" Johnny shouted in surprise, finally noticing Zoro among the group. He immediately dropped his sword in the sand as he ran to the group. "You've got to help us! Yosaku is dying and we don't know why!"

Nami walked over to the prone form of Yosaku. Johnny immediately tensed, but Zoro held him back. After a few seconds of looking him over, she spoke up, "Can any of you get me a few limes from the pantry?"

Usopp returned a few moments later with the fruits. "Scurvy?" he asked as Nami began squeezing the juice into Yosaku's mouth.

"That's right," she answered. Immediately after doing so, Yosaku sat up instantaneously, headbutting Usopp in the process.

"You son of a-" Usopp began angrily as he got to his feet only to see Yosaku up again and dancing. His anger faded into confusion and then into worry.

"Hey! You can't just recover that fast! It doesn't work like that!" he shouted as Johnny and Yosaku turned their attention to him.

"Oh right," Yosaku said before comically fainting. Usopp sighed.

"Thanks for the help, Brother Zoro and friends!" Johnny said, bowing profusely at their knees. "We are forever in your debt!"

"Hey, hey now," Nami began. "Just do us a favour and keep plenty of fruit in stock. You've got to be more careful at sea. Now come on board, I want to take a closer look at him."

* * *

Luffy carried Yosaku on deck where Nami did further examinations on him. As she did, the others sat around the meeting table where they exchanged introductions.

"Sorry about earlier," Johnny said. "We've been following the Black Cat Pirates for weeks now, and when we finally found their base, Yosaku came down with the sickness. We've been on edge ever since."

"Sounds like you've had a rough week," Zoro said, in which Johnny simply nodded.

"What about you?" he asked. "I never thought you'd give up bounty hunting for pirating."

"Yeah," Zoro half said. "It happens."

"And that sword you've got…" Johnny trailed off. "That's some presence it's giving off…"

Zoro wasn't surprised Johnny could feel his sword's aura. While him and Yosaku were _kind of_ lacking in the intelligence department, both of them were still trained, knowledgeable swordsmen of the sea.

Zoro unstrapped it and handed his sword over for Johnny to examine. For a few seconds, silence spilled over the table.

"...Get rid of it."

Everyone raised their eyes in confusion. "What?" Zoro asked, wondering if he heard him right.

"I said get rid of it," Johnny repeated firmly. "I don't know what this thing is, but it radiates evil. I've seen some things in my day, but nothing to this degree. I'm glad Brother Zoro has found a weapon worthy of his skills, but this sword can only bring disaster to everyone around him," he said as he handed the sword back. "...And I'm guessing you're the one responsible for the bodies on the beach, right?"

Zoro wordlessly retrieved his sword before restrapping it on his haramaki. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll take whatever burden comes with this sword."

Johnny sighed. "I can't stop you from making your choices. Just promise me you'll be careful, Zoro."

Nami finally approached the group having finished her examination. "Aside from the scurvy, he's got a few scratches and bruises. Nothing too serious. He'll live."

"I didn't know you were a doctor," said Usopp in amazement. "I thought you only drew maps."

"I'm not," she replied as she removed her gloves. "But I was trained in nursing by my mother."

Yosaku began stirring from his sleep and within a few moments he was up. After some stern warnings about the dangers at sea, the Straw Hats and the bounty hunters exchanged farewells.

"Thank you for everything, Straw Hats!" Yosaku shouted. "And we'll promise to be more careful!" he said, looking particularly at Nami.

"If we catch you with scurvy once again, we will hunt you down and I will take the pleasure of drowning you myself!" Nami warned, but with a smile. Johnny and Zoro shared one last look, before him and Yosaku hopped on their dinghy… or canoe. Whatever you call it.

"Alright, where to next?" Luffy asked, resting his arms around his head.

"Well, we're heading to the Grand Line, right? We've got to assemble a well-rounded crew to survive," said Usopp.

"Right," said Nami. We'll need a diverse group of people with different skills. I'm thinking we either get a doctor, or someone with good knowledge of the Grand Line first."

"No," Zoro interrupted. "A cook is more important at this stage. Someone who can properly keep us fed at sea is the first step in preventing disease and ensuring the well-being of the crew."

"Or we could get a musician," Luffy interrupted. "Pirates love to sing after all!"

Nami picked up a very familiar rock she brought on board for this very purpose. She then threw it at Luffy, which harmlessly bounced off of his rubber body.

"So bad idea?" he asked, in which Nami simply sighed after that.

"Zoro's right on this one. We should definitely get a cook before anything else," said Usopp. "But where would we find one?"

"The Baratie," Zoro recalled from memory. "Apparently, it's a floating restaurant at sea with cooks known for their toughness. We'll find someone there."

"Alright!" Nami shouted excitedly. "That's exactly what we're looking for! Now tell me the heading and we'll be right on our way!"

" _Oh shit..."_ Zoro thought. He **completely** forgot to ask Johnny and Yosaku for the directions this time around! And they were probably kilometers away, giving up any hope of chasing them.

As the eyes of his crewmates fell upon him expectantly, a voice suddenly appeared in his head. " _North 62 degrees west, sail 30 nautical miles, then head straight west from there. You should hit the Sambas region in 2 to 3 days,"_ the familiar child-like voice said.

" _Thanks, Hana,"_ he said gratefully in his mind, hoping she heard him.

"We sail north 62 degrees west from here for 30 nautical miles, then turn west. Keep sailing in that direction and we'll arrive in 2 to 3 days," Zoro repeated to the utterly flabbergasted faces of his crewmates.

"Holy..." Nami began.

"...Shit," Usopp finished. "Zoro can _navigate_. He can actually fucking navigate!"

"Surprised?" Zoro said boredly as he moved towards the upper deck. He would be insane if he let the opportunity to impress his crew get away from him.

"Hey wait! Straw Hats!" a voice called from the beach amidst the bodies. As the crew turned to the voice, they were immediately on guard.

"Alright, just hear me out, guys," Django said as weapons were aimed directly at him. "Please."

After a few seconds, the Straw Hats complied. "First of all, I want to thank you for dealing with Kuro. He threatened to kill us all if we failed our invasion, but because of you guys we're free!"

"Spit it out. What do you want?" Usopp spoke.

"Straight to the point the," Django said as he adjusted his hat. "We want to ally ourselves with the Straw Hat Pirates, well the remainder of us anyways."

That came as a surprise to everyone. Before anybody could interject, Zoro spoke up. "What do you have to gain from this?" he asked, although the idea wasn't a bad one. Having allies this early on in their journey would only be helpful in the long run.

Zoro only wanted to know if they could trust them.

"Not much really. Though you did wipe out some of our crew, we are still grateful for everything that you did for us."

"And if we refuse?" Nami asked skeptically.

"That doesn't matter much. We won't fly under your flag, but we will be there whenever you need help, whether you actually want us there or not."

"I'm saying we go for it," said Usopp, earning odd looks from his crewmates.

"Wait, weren't these guys plan to attack your village at one point?" Nami asked.

"That was Kuro's idea. We didn't see the point in attacking Syrup Village when we could have headed for the Grand Line, but he forced us to make preparations anyways. Really turned off some of the guys, like the Nyaban Brothers."

"It's your call, captain," Zoro said. "Although, I see nothing wrong with obtaining allies who are willing to work with us."

"I'm alright with it as well, I suppose," added Nami. "Marimo here has a point. It's a good idea to start gaining allies early."

"Fine," Luffy said at last. "We'll accept your offer, but on one condition." He said as he walked towards his room and returned with a familiar shaped figurehead. "This thing… belongs to me."

"Fair enough," Django said. "I've always wanted to rename the crew. Maybe I'll get some hipster vibe going on."

"And this belongs to me," Usopp said, showing his new porthole.

"Fine by me. That thing was an eyesore."

"And you'll have no problem with me keeping the jewel-covered door?"

This made Django gasp. "...Okay…" was all he managed to cough out.

"Awesome!" Luffy shouted. "Welcome to the Straw Hat Alliance, hypno guy! See you whenever!"

And so the Straw Hats would sail on to the Baratie only to meet the most expected and unexpected foes. What they didn't see was Django suddenly blinking.

" _I remember them!"_

* * *

 **A/N: And Django's got his memory back. Will anything good come out of this? Will anything bad? Would any one of you care? Stay tuned and find out!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Same thing as before. Just decided to copy and paste because I'm lazy. -Lorenzo**

 **A/N: Hello everyone! How are you all doing? My name is Harry, and Levi asked me to put together this introduction for all of you! Levi is preparing to take the MCAT this Summer, so he is swamped with work (Not really. In fact, he was camping outside of the Supreme NY store last night). Yet, he still found the time to write this out, only to toss it to me saying "Yo, hoe. Write up some random shit for my introduction."**

 **He is calling this update a "bridging chapter," but really it is just code for "too lazy to write a full chapter." Nonetheless, as according to Levi, at this point you should be questioning whether Zoro truly is the protagonist. Or is he the villain? :thinking**

 **While I am at it, here is a random fact about Levi: he used to be a part of a gang.**

 **Big emphasis on the words "USED TO BE." I don't need people knocking down my door at 4 in the morning.- Lorenzo**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Walking Into Hell's Kitchen**

"And… we're here!" Usopp shouted from the crow's nest. The Baratie Seafaring Restaurant bobbed gently across the ocean's surface as the Going Merry approached. "And I can't believe it was actually Zoro who got us here!"

"You're welcome," the resident swordsman said with his feet kicked up on a barrel. "We can set anchor over there. After that, we can finally go in and get some food."

"Wahoo!" Luffy shouted as he hopped onto the deck of the fish-shaped restaurant. "Get whatever you want, guys! Nami's got our backs on this one! Captain's orders!"

Nami rolled her eyes, but agreed. They had plenty of money after looting the Black Cat Pirates dry. Plus, from what Zoro had been telling everyone on the way there, the Baratie served the best food on this side of the sea.

She was slightly skeptic at how Zoro always knew what was in the area, however. When it came to restaurants, nearby islands sure. But Kuro's and Django's abilities? Their formations? Strategy? Defences?

" _They have approximately 200 pirates stationed on the island," Zoro said with closed eyes. "Three quarters are defending the beachfront, the rest are inland. Kuro and his commanders are towards the Northwest… but the terrain is blocking our entrance from that side. Our best strategy is to raid the beach and move inwards from there. They have the largest numbers, but they're too spread out to defend cohesively."_

It was as if Zoro _knew_ exactly where each individual pirate stood. But that was simply an outrageous idea.

Perhaps Zoro already scouted the island before any of them met? But if he did, then when? Maybe Zoro fought the Black Cat Pirates before, but was defeated before returning with their current crewmembers?

Realistically speaking, that would make the most sense, but Zoro was clearly on another level from the pirates she met so far, even compared to Luffy. She shuddered at the memory of the soulless remains of the Black Cat Pirates. If Zoro really had decided to raid the island in the past, there was a good chance that it would be beneath the ocean's surface by now.

Someone as powerful as Zoro existing in the East Blue of all places was simply absurd! Nami could only think of one other person who could possibly match the Straw Hat First Mate. Someone she was very close to.

As Nami entered the restaurant, Zoro couldn't help but to sigh. He never liked looking inside the minds of his crewmates, but the worry that Nami gave off was almost _tangible._ If her memories didn't return in time, she would always remain paranoid of her own friends.

Before Zoro disembarked himself, he stole a glance at the nearby marine ship. " _I guess some things don't change after all…"_ he thought. He steered the Merry to the other side of the Baratie before he made his way inside the Baratie.

* * *

"Make me a new one! I'm not eating this shit!"

"Sir, pleaseㄧ"

There were screams and the sound of plates shattering as Zoro calmly pushed past the restaurant doors.

"I am Lieutenant Fullbody of the Marines! Not only could I have this restaurant shut down within the next hour, but with the snap of my fingers, I can also send this eyesore of a ship to the bottom of the sea!"

Marine Lieutenant Fullbody stood up from his table, his nose inches away from a familiar blond-haired chef. "When I want a new plate of food, I expect a new plate to appear! Nobody disrespects me!"

The rest of the Straw Hats were seated at a table not far from the commotion. They were all amused at the scene Fullbody was causing, with Luffy even chuckling a little bit. Immediately, Fullbody's head turned to his direction.

"Something funny, punk?"

"I don't know," Nami began. "I don't think that the rice was burned at all. Someone's just got thinly-veiled anger issues."

"We think it's hilarious you're getting so worked up over something like this," Usopp added.

The black suited chef had yet to say anything. Instead, he knelt down and began collecting the soiled rice onto a new plate. "That was a good plate of food you just wasted..." he said quietly.

Before Fullbody could divert his attention back to him, his head was slammed onto the table and was held down firmly. His date screamed as she leapt up from the impact.

What came next shocked the entire crew, most of all Zoro. Sanji pulled out a gun. An _actual_ gun. Holding it to Fullbody's head, he set the collected plate of rice a few inches from his face.

"Calling me a bastard, I can forgive. Disrespecting my restaurant's name, I'll let it slide..." Sanji growled lowly. "But you _don't_ waste good food."

Immediately, the rest of the kitchen staff arrived, all with pistols drawn. "We don't treat our customers this way, Sanji! Let him go!"

Sanji refused to budge. Instead, he lifted Fullbody's head and slammed it on top of the plate. "I will when he sucks down every last grain of rice from this plate."

Patty and the other simply nodded their heads. Their guns were now trained on Fullbody. "Eat it," he nudged.

For the next 5 minutes, Fullbody munched down every last grain on the plate in humiliation, all while his head was still flat against the table. Upon finishing, the pistols were dropped. This didn't stop him from flipping the table over in anger.

"You'll all pay for this," Fullbody said as he limped out the doorway. "Sink them," he said into his transponder snail.

"Right, Usopp," Luffy said into his own transponder snail as he rose from his seat. " _Sink them_." As Zoro glanced back towards him, he grinned. It seemed Usopp snuck out sometime ago and suddenly, the sound of cannonfire was heard outside.

"I have to thank Zoro for moving Merry into a flanking position," Usopp said as he walked by the bewildered Fullbody and sat back into his chair. "They never saw it coming."

Fullbody gritted his teeth before sprinting out onto the open deck. The sound of a splash could be heard as the Straw Hats followed him outside.

"He stole one of our lifeboats…" Patty said as he saw the raft drift further and further away from the party. Immediately, Usopp cocked his rifle and had Fullbody in his crosshairs.

"Don't worry. I've got him." Before he could fire, Sanji lowered the barrel of his gun.

"Enough. He's not worth the bullet."

* * *

"Thank you for your help today, pirates. I am Sanji, the head chef here on the Baratie Restaurant. The man you saw before was Patty, my sous chef. He's usually the one to keep me in check when things get fiery."

"Head chef?" Zoro asked confused.

"Yes. The previous head chef passed away not too long ago..." he trailed off. "Lung cancer."

"Condolences," Zoro said. That explained Sanji's… unusual aura. Zeff had _died_ in this timeline. Draping over his usual black suit was a white coat with the characters "head chef" adorned on the back. Though Sanji looked the same, he was more serious. Darker. There was also the outburst earlier. This was a different Sanji.

"Don't worry about it," Sanji said as he puffed his cigarette. "The old man's in a better place now. I promised him on his deathbed that I would make him proud and if he saw the Baratie now, he'd cry tears of happiness. Enough about me, though. I'd like to know more about you guys."

"Monkey D. Luffy. Future Pirate King."

"Roranoa Zoro. Greatest Swordsman in the World."

"Nami. The Sea's Finest Thief."

"Usopp. A Brave Warrior of the Sea." Luffy elbowed him. " _Say something cooler!"_ he nudged.

"Uh… Usopp. Best Shot in the… uh… Grand Line…?"

Luffy and Zoro burst out laughing with Sanji quickly joining in. Nami rolled her eyes at their antics, but even she couldn't stop the grin from growing on her face.

"Those are some crazy epithets," Sanji chuckled. "It's good to have wild dreams…" he paused hesitantly, but returned with the widest smile that the crew had seen from him.

"Have any of you heard of the All Blue?"

The crew spent hours talking and laughing with one another, going well into the night. For a brief moment, all looked well in the world.

* * *

Sanji was deep in thought over the events of last night. The Straw Hats returned to their ship just before dawn broke, and he assumed they would have sailed off by the time morning came around. Before leaving the restaurant, their swordsman cryptically said, " _Don't miss us for too long._ _We'll be back tomorrow when things get dicey."_

"Head chef! Head chef!" one of the waiters repeatedly shouted as he slammed open the doors into the kitchen. "There's a pirate ship approaching us and it's not slowing down!"

Sanji removed the cigarette from his lips as he listened the pleas of his staff. Sometimes they were just too dependant on him. "And what of it? Pirates are some of our regular customers, Gerald. The service staff should be enough to deal with them if they cause any trouble."

"But they're no regular pirates, Head Chef! It's Kreig's flag!"

Sanji grit his teeth.

* * *

"And so I had an epiphany!" shouted the Don. Kreig was fully adorned with his steel armour. His weapons and guns were on full display for all to see. A long spear with a round shield-like shape below the blade was grasped in his hands as the customers and kitchen staff shook with horror.

"Before I enter the Grand Line, I thought to myself " _Why not make it easier for myself to blindside fools like you?"_ And that's where your ship comes in. No one would suspect an army being hid inside a ship like this!"

Sanji was face-to-face with the Pirate Don himself and a fully healthy crew of 500 men. If that didn't make make things difficult, he was flanked by his two commanders Pearl, and Gin.

"Resistance is futile," he said at last. "Bear witness to the next Pirate King."

While he could take Gin or Pearl, maybe even Krieg himself, Sanji wasn't stupid enough to think that him and a few chefs could fight off the largest pirate fleet in the East Blue.

" _Now would be a REALLY good time for you guys to show up!"_ Sanji thought.

His ears perked up upon hearing a slight _hiss_ emerge from the ground. Several smoke bombs went off, blanketing the area in a thick fog… followed by loud, rapid fits of coughing.

"What the *cough* fuck is in these *cough* things?!"

"*Cough* And these fucking gas masks aren't even working *cough* *cough*"

"This is *cough* why we can't fucking *cough* trust you with anything, Usopp!"

"None of this *cough* *cough* *cough* was supposed to happen!"

The Straw Hats looked ghastly, disoriented, and just about ready to collapse to the ground, but nevertheless, they had arrived.

"And you!" Luffy clumsily pointed his sword to Krieg in between coughs. "That *cough* title belongs to me!"

* * *

 **A/N: Medicine is so hard wtf. That's 2 stories updated in 2 days. Will publish more after MCAT if I don't die of exhaustion before then.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm not dead. Well, at least not on the outside. Y'all better have a toilet on hand, 'cause shit's about to go doooown.**

 **Gone for 6 months, written in the middle of a taco break.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Ashes to Ashes**

The continuous sound of coughing ruined whatever tense atmosphere Don Kreig and his fully-armed crew created in the standoff.

"We *cough* *cough* are gonna… Ok, what the fuck did you put in these smoke bombs?!" Luffy forced out of his lungs as the rest of the Straw Hats save for Usopp were coughing just as hard. Said person in question had a gas mask encasing his head.

"The extract of the Florus Parinesius. It's a plant native to the lands of-"

"Isn't that shit toxic?!" Nami exclaimed. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"Um… Head Chef, " Patty spoke up quietly. "Can we really trust these guys to fight for us? None of them really look like fighters at all…"

"It's fine, Patty," Sanji said through a drag of his cigarette. A few ashes dropped on the ground as he flicked the butt. "They're strong."

Kreig, on the other hand, bellowed with laughter. The sound of laughter grew as Kreig's pirates joined in and eventually the Baratie and the sea around it shook with their thunderous voices.

"I don't think you know what you're dealing with here, kid. I am the strongest pirate in the East Blue. You ants are nothing before me." As Kreig finished, the clicking of boots on the ground brought forward a face new to many in the Straw Hat crew, but one Zoro was very familiar with.

"I don't think we need so many cooks on board when we're done..." Gin said as he whirled his tonfas. With a bloodthirsty smile, he continued, "I'm pretty sure we can cut that number in half…"

"Did you just threaten us?!" Patty exclaimed.

"Did that not sound like it?"

"Enough," Sanji proclaimed loudly, catching the attention of Kreig and Gin. Even the Straw Hats turned their heads to the direction of his voice. "Let's work this out peacefully. We don't need any blood to be spilled today."

This caused Kreig to laugh. "A surrender? Wise decision, blondie. Men! Take their-"

"No, that was a warning," Sanji interrupted. "Either leave quietly and never return, or we'll drop your corpses several leagues beneath the sea."

A chill went down the spines of the Kreig Pirates. Even Gin felt a slight drop in the temperature.

However, Kreig remained unfazed. "Well, when this is all said and done, remember: This is all your fault, brat."

As quick as one's eyes would blink, Kreig loaded his wrist pistol and shot Sanji.

* * *

"Sanji!" Nami shouted, as the other Straw Hats were frozen in shock. She cursed as she sprinted over to his slowly falling form.

The thud of his body hitting the ground brought laughter to the entirety of Kreig's crew, with Kreig and his commanders boasting about the head chef's stupidity.

The Baratie cooks on the other hand… were also smiling. Chuckling even. Some of them already had weapons in hand, as if they believed they would win this battle without their head chef.

"What the fuck are you all smiling about?!" Nami shouted irately. "He's dying! Someone get me some-" She was cut off when she saw the bullet wound. There was no blood.

There was a visible hole. But there was no blood.

Nami could only think of one other explanation.

"I really doubt whether you were correct in that assessment of yours..." Sanji said as he slowly got to his feet. Swirls of dust and ash wrapped his body as he did, filling the empty space where the bullet wound used to be. "...You know… that part about being the strongest pirate in the East Blue."

Panic arose within Kreig's crew as they looked on the menace in front of them. The Straw Hats, especially Luffy watched on in awe. Sanji's body peeled off in waves, as if he was made entirely of paper.

Gin rushed forward and bombarded Sanji with his tonfas in a wild frenzy of blows. Sanji did nothing but step backwards with each impact only scattering the flaky remains of his body around the deck. A sudden blast of ash sent Gin flying backwards into the sea. At this point, Don Kreig's second mate, Pearl jumped high from the ship and lunged at Sanji with both shields in his hands.

A sudden gust of ash stopped him mid-air, and encased him as he fell from the sky onto the deck of the Baratie.

"What the-?!" Pearl exclaimed as he was immobilized on the ground. The ash flakes surrounding him hardened into a shell completely encasing him in a glass-like substance. Struggling a bit, he smashed both arms out of his glass prison. "Bastard! You want to play dirty?! Fine then! I'll just burn your whole ship down!"

Pearl began rapidly clashing his shields together and soon enough his entire body was ablaze.

Sanji, who had yet say anything during the fight began, finally spoke up. "Ashes have a tendency to reignite…" The ashes encasing Pearl suddenly solidified.

"You just cooked yourself."

Before Pearl could question what that meant, he exploded sending his unconscious husk rolling a few steps away from Kreig himself.

"Ashes to ashes… dust to dust," Sanji said cryptically. Immediately, grey ashy flakes began climbing themselves up the hull of Kreig's ship. "This is the power of the Ash-Ash fruit. The name is Vinsmoke Sanji, the strongest in the East Blue. Remember it."

Zoro was a little surprised that Sanji chose not to hide his heritage, but didn't make the comment as he was the only one who knew the truth.

Gin just climbed out of the water to see flickers of smoke grow from the ashes. Kreig's eyes widened in shock. The Kreig pirates screamed. Before any of them could take action, they realized their legs were also encased in ashes.

"Burn…" Sanji whispered and suddenly Kreig's ship was set ablaze.

* * *

The display of sheer power that Sanji put on astounded all those who watched. Luffy, Usopp, and Nami were left with their mouths agape. The rest of the Baratie staff began cheering over their supposed victory. Zoro actually scoffed when he heard Sanji claim that he was the strongest of them all. Clearly that was something he was going to set straight very soon.

But that was not even 10 seconds ago. The attention of everyone was immediately drawn to something else. Something that felt completely... _sinister._

"Huh?" One of the chefs asked out loud. "What happened?"

The flames had only sparked for a split second before they were immediately hushed out, leaving the cold, mouldy ship intact on the water. There was no trace that the Kreig flagship had ever been set ablaze save for the light smoke radiating into the sky.

All while this had been going on, the sky began darkening at a slow rate until the only light was the moon shining down. Pearl had only just awakened at this point as the Kreig Pirates managed to revive both him and Gin in the midst of all the confusion. But they had as much of an idea of what was happening as everybody else. Many of the Kreig Pirates and Baratie chefs had lit torches illuminating the darkness surrounding them.

"What type of game are you guys trying to play?" Kreig growled as he looked around the darkened atmosphere.

"No clue," Sanji responded as he took a puff of his cigarette. "The atmosphere is too damp for me to restart my fires."

"I feel it too," Nami chided in. "As if some magical force is smothering us down."

"Good thing for them, I guess. That saved them from having their ship burned down."

This irked Kreig. "Men. Rend them limb from limb and toss their bodies into the sea!" This prompted the Kreig Pirates to let out an enormous battlecry as they began charging from their ship.

The Straw Hats and the Baratie chefs echoed their own equally as loud battlecry as they readied themselves for the charge. That was until a voice echoed over the horizon.

" _The Devil comes when the sun goes down. Let him carry all those long lost souls... home…"_

Time appeared to stop for a split second as all eyes focussed on something they couldn't believe. An enormous wind slash with a size unlike any other barrelled over the oceans, completely swallowing the entirety of Kreig Pirate Ship as widened eyes watched in awe. Everyone who hadn't already landed on the deck of the Baratie was lost to the sea. Permanently.

"Legend says that the Devil created the perfect soldier. He never claimed less than victory in every battle he fought," a raspy voice echoed. Several hundred green candle flames flickered through the fog until a coffin-shaped boat came into view. "Of course when that fateful day came where the hands of defeat were finally claiming him as one of their own, the Devil had other plans. Another battle was won that day, but another soul was lost."

The wicked yellow eyes finally connected with those of Zoro's. With a wry grin, he observed the ruined battlefield before him and Zoro's eyes widened when they returned to him.

"Is that?... Can it be?..." Patty muttered.

The trio of Usopp, Sanji, and Nami all responded together with varying reactions.

"Dracule Mihawk.'The Wicked One." came a growl, a whisper, and a scream.

Zoro grit his teeth. Mihawk smirked. He then drew the huge black sword off of his back as his boat wobbled closer and closer towards the Baratie, the green candles surrounding him humming with an otherworldly whir.

"Listen very carefully, Baratie chefs," Sanji began. "Most of you already know this, but do NOT engage the man before you. Kreig may be strong, but that man is in another league of his own."

Mihawk made a show of laughing at the whispers around him, all discussing how insane it would be to fight the man. Or even their chances of ending the day alive. Zoro stared long and hard at Mihawk before he finally nodded his head in resignment.

"Mihawk, huh?" Kreig whispered under his breath. He stood tall then did something no one ever expected a man of Kreig's caliber to do.

He ran.

Of course the more appropriate description was that he "flew." Kreig fired up the jet-pack embedded in his suit of armour and immediately rocketed into the sky. Of course that was until a quick wind slash cut him down.

Gin and Pearl couldn't believe their eyes. Their captain had just attempted to abandon them. They were not oblivious to the legends of Mihawk's otherworldly strength, but still... _captains should never abandon their crew._

"Well, now that all of the spineless scum have been dealt with, let's get on to my true purpose for travelling here and that is I have two announcements to make."

Zoro's head dropped low upon hearing that.

"The first being that I resign my title as the "World's Greatest Swordsman" to the man before you, Roranoa Zoro." Everyone froze. "He will hold that title until he no longer can, which I suppose will be forever unless he slips up."

Zoro's heart sank as he knew the exact words that were about to leave his former mentor. He knew the worse was yet to come.

"And now for the second announcement..." The piercing eyes of Dracule Mihawk slowly scanned through the individual faces of all that was before him until they finally rested on a certain person. The whole reason he came to the East Blue.

"You there, boy... What is your name?"

"Monkey D. Luffy. The Future Pirate King."

Mihawk emitted a hearty laugh.

"Very well, Mr. Luffy. My name is Dracule Mihawk, the former greatest swordsman in the world. I hereby challenge you to a duel."

* * *

 **There was a good reason I made Luffy a swordsman, and this chapter reveals it. The next update is either coming out St. Patricks Day, Christmas, or if I'm especially bored, at the end of the month lol.**

 **Sanji has a devil fruit... or does he?**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Extra long chapter because you guys waited this long. I actually planned out this scene when I first started working on Relapse Effect so this thing was like 8-9 months in the making.**

 **The least you guys can do is buy me McDonald's (Rolo McFlurry preferred but don't send them all at once or I'll be at risk for diabetes faster than my internet connection which in hindsight is actually pretty slow lol).**

* * *

Chapter 9: Sunset

 **Previously...**

" _The Devil comes when the sun goes down. Let him carry all those long lost souls... home…"_

Time appeared to stop for a split second as all eyes focussed on something they couldn't believe. An enormous wind slash with a size unlike any other barrelled over the oceans, completely swallowing the entirety of Kreig Pirate Ship as widened eyes watched in awe. Everyone who hadn't already landed on the deck of the Baratie was lost to the sea. Permanently.

"Legend says that the Devil created the perfect soldier. He never claimed less than victory in every battle he fought," a raspy voice echoed. Several hundred green candle flames flickered through the fog until a coffin-shaped boat came into view. "Of course when that fateful day came where the hands of defeat were finally claiming him as one of their own, the Devil had other plans. Another battle was won that day, but another soul was lost."

The wicked yellow eyes finally connected with those of Zoro's. " **It's been a while," Zoro head the voice in his mind speak.** With a wry grin, he observed the ruined battlefield before him and Zoro's eyes widened when they returned to him. " **Destruction has always been a hobby of mine after all," He laughed.**

"Is that?... Can it be?..." Patty muttered. The trio of Usopp, Sanji, and Nami all responded together with varying reactions.

"Dracule Mihawk.'The Wicked One." came a growl, a whisper, and a scream.

Zoro grit his teeth. " **What are you doing here?..."** Mihawk smirked. " **Well you already know why I'm here."** He then drew the huge black sword off of his back as his boat wobbled closer and closer towards the Baratie, the green candles surrounding him humming with an otherworldly whir. " **I'm here to test the boy."**

"Listen very carefully, Baratie chefs," Sanji began. "Most of you already know this, but do NOT engage the man before you. Kreig may be strong, but that man is in another league of his own."

Mihawk made a show of laughing at the whispers around him, all discussing how insane it would be to fight the man. Or even their chances of ending the day alive. " **Such a nonsensical point in question such as mere memories cannot hold me down.** " **Mihawk's voice said. "** **But do not confuse me for one who does the same thing over and over again expecting a different result for that is insanity."**

 **Zoro felt the underwordish chill his own sword gave off. And clearly Mihawk felt it as well.**

" **Challenging you here, will only yield the same result, especially with that new weapon of yours. I can no longer call myself the master and so I will pass that title on to you."**

Zoro stared long and hard at Mihawk before he finally nodded his head in resignment.

"Mihawk, huh?" Kreig whispered under his breath. He stood tall then did something no one ever expected a man of Kreig's caliber to do.

He ran.

Of course the more appropriate description was that he "flew." Kreig fired up the jet-pack embedded in his suit of armour and immediately rocketed into the sky. Of course that was until a quick wind slash cut him down.

Gin and Pearl couldn't believe their eyes. Their captain had just attempted to abandon them. They were not oblivious to the legends of Mihawk's otherworldly strength, but still... _captains should never abandon their crew._

"Well, now that all of the spineless scum have been dealt with, let's get on to my true purpose for travelling here and that is I have two announcements to make."

Zoro's head dropped low upon hearing that.

"The first being that I resign my title as the "World's Greatest Swordsman" to the man before you, Roranoa Zoro." Everyone froze. "He will hold that title until he no longer can, which I suppose will be forever unless he slips up."

" **Now be a good master and try not to interfere."**

Zoro's heart sank as he knew the exact words that were about to leave his former mentor. He knew the worse was yet to come.

"And now for the second announcement..." The piercing eyes of Dracule Mihawk slowly scanned through the individual faces of all that was before him until they finally rested on a certain person. The whole reason he came to the East Blue.

"You there, boy... What is your name?"

"Monkey D. Luffy. The Future Pirate King." Mihawk emitted a hearty laugh.

"Very well, Mr. Luffy. My name is Dracule Mihawk, the former greatest swordsman in the world. I hereby challenge you to a duel."

* * *

Luffy hopped from the railing onto the deck of the Baratie amongst gawking eyes.

"Is he really going to fight "Wicked" Mihawk, Sanji?" Patty asked his head chef.

Sanji instead turned to Zoro.

"It's uncharacteristic of Mihawk to simply hand over his title like that. Either he's joking or you guys might be the greatest threat to the oceans since Roger. But I highly doubt that hypothesis."

"Heh," Zoro finally spoke. "You can believe whatever you want."

"What are you guys exactly?..." Nami asked Zoro.

"The Pirate King and the Greatest Swordsman in the World," Zoro said, finally acknowledging his newfound title. "The ones who stand on top of this era."

"Well let's hope Luffy survives to keep that title," Usopp said as he watched his captain finally stare down Mihawk.

"Why me?" Luffy began, breaking the silence. It wasn't said in a rough tone, but one simply emanating curiosity. "I'm not even the best swordsman in my crew."

"A man with one eye once told me that you were going to claim this era as your own," Mihawk said. He shot a smirk at Zoro before finally brandishing his sword towards Luffy. "I wanted to know what he was thinking."

Luffy drew his sword, holding it with both hands between his head and his left shoulder. He took a wide stance, his eye level parallel with his sword.

"Ah, Wushin Style," Mihawk remarked. "I didn't think I would meet a user outside of the Wano Isles. You must have had a very skilled teacher."

"Zoro taught me," Luffy said as his grip over his sword tightened.

"Your stance is well held. A few gaps yes, but nothing time cannot fix. You're not a complete beginner, but you're also far from a master. Let's see where your limit lies."

And with that, both swordsmen charged at each other.

* * *

To the ordinary viewer, the fight looked beyond normal. Intense even.

After their initial clash of blades, both swordsmen backed off before launching into another series of attacks. The skilled, complete offense of Mihawk met the agile, nimble, and unpredictable nature of Luffy's swordsmanship. Sparks flew as swords continued to collide with one another as each man danced around the battlefield.

Sanji ordered that the Baratie fins be opened up so that both men had more space to fight. If one were to ask Sanji why he did so, he would have simply replied that he did it to avoid permanent damage to his ship.

But deep down inside, he was a little curious about what made this little crew so special. After the death of his adoptive father, Sanji swore that he would leave fighting behind, becoming somewhat of a pacifist. He was now the person the kitchen looked up to and a violent, quick-to-anger chef would look unprofessional to his staff. Sanji only ever fought to defend, and his own personal pride was never something he even remotely considered worthy.

As soon as this ragtag group of no name pirates showed up at his restaurant, he knew they were special somehow. There was a deep darkness surrounding both the woman and the sniper, but more interesting was the Captain and his right-hand.

Luffy, as he remembered his name, radiated such a limitless untapped potential it was like Sanji was witnessing the apparent heir to the throne that was the sea itself. The swordsman, however was something completely different. While his captain's presence was warm, comforting, and espoused admiration, Zoro's aura was an endless pit of darkness the likes of which the world had never seen.

Despair. Hopelessness. _Evil_.

It was far different from one of a destructive beast. While the beast had the power to destroy and crush everything around him, Zoro's aura sought to bring humanity to its knees and reveal to them the true wickedness of the world. It would be no surprise to say that even a man of Sanji's caliber shivered at the thought.

The sound of clashing swords brought Sanji back to the world. Whatever both Luffy and Zoro were, Mihawk radiated the same aura.

"You fight with spirit, boy," Mihawk said as he parried a quick thrust from Luffy who performed several backflips in order to gain some separation. "I'm enjoying this little run."

" **One-sword style: Three Birds."**

Mihawk's eyes heightened in surprise as three windbound projectiles was launched and with a flick of his wrist, deflected them to the side. His eyes returned to Luffy as the rubber man reverted to his stance.

A hearty laugh emerged from the swordsman. "A flying blade attack already? You never fail to amuse me even in the slightest, Luffy," he said with a slight lit to his voice.

Luffy, not oblivious to the gesture, quickly caught on. "This isn't the first time we met, is it Mihawk?"

Once again, Mihawk threw a smirk at Zoro. "You've got a pretty smart captain on your hands, Zoro." Returning to Luffy, he cryptically continued, "From another life, fate has brought us together once again. The man who once knew everything is now the man who knows nothing… well at least for now. But you'll figure that one out on your own, young king."

Zoro's eyebrows shot straight up as the atmospheric pressure morphed once again. He knew Mihawk was never taking his duel with Luffy seriously, but that was until now. The waves around the Baratie rocked as lightning flew across the sky. Mihawk's aura was rose until it could be compared to that of an Admiral. There was no way Mihawk was this strong already, even compared to the last timeline.

" **Legends said that God abandoned his favourite soldier when he needed it most. But that's when the Devil stepped in,"** a demonic voice echoed around everyone present. A deep red glow radiated off of Mihawk as a pair of large black bat-like wings grew from his back. " **Or perhaps the legends were all lies and he simply consumed the Bat-Bat Fruit: Vampire Model."**

" _ **You're not the only one who's upgraded this time around,"**_ Zoro heard the voice growl in his mind.

"Shit, he's got a Devil Fruit!" Gin gritted his teeth. "How the fuck do we win now?!"

A demonic laugh echoed across the ocean as Mihawk plunged his black sword deep within the Baratie deck.

" **One-Sword Style: Sundown."**

Geysers of lava erupted from the sea deep into the sky as thunder and lightning roared across the bright red landscape now created. Archipelagos and rock formations melted into the lava as the distressed panic of wildlife was heard around them. Mihawk's laugh continued to echo as a tsunami of lava rose high above them and threatened to engulf the Baratie entirely.

" **One-Sword Style: Demon Breath."**

Immediately, an enormous front of wind barreled itself into the towering wave of fire, completely extinguishing it. All eyes turned to Zoro, whose sword was brandished in the tsunami's direction.

"This is a duel between swordsman, Mihawk. Leave everyone else out of this," Zoro said, his eyes flashing black for a quick second.

" **Hahaha, of course!"** Mihawk laughed as the landscape settled back to the midnight scene it once was. " **As you desire, Zoro."**

Both Nami and Usopp's previous fear morphed into courage, and hardened eyes prepared to enter the fray and defend their captain. There was no way they could win, but damn they would go down fighting alongside Luffy.

Zoro simply raised his hand up. "No. This a duel between swordsman. Don't interfere."

"What the fuck are you thinking?!" screamed Nami. "Luffy is going to die!"

She was just about to continue on her rant when she saw Zoro's downtrodden expression. Nami was on the brink of tears and an audible sniffle could be heard by Baratie, Straw Hat, and Kreig personnel alike.

"You mean… there's… there's nothing we can do?..." Nami whimpered.

Zoro's head hung low, but everyone caught notice of the slow subtle rotation. "No…"

Nami couldn't hold back any longer and Sanji rested a hand on her shoulder, while Usopp could only grit his teeth.

"DAMMIT!" he shouted into the sky.

On the deck below, neither Mihawk nor Luffy noticed the commotion around them. Instead, Luffy looked on to the demonic form that his opponent took. Mihawk's skin was now a dark shade of grey while two protruding fangs hung from his upper lip. The whites in his eyes were now pitch-black in colour with tiny yellow pupils.

Luffy was unfazed however. He had his own trump card. He bit down hard on his forearm and bellowed hard as he recalled from his dream and earlier encounter with the Black Cat Pirates. The result was the same hulking, bouncing titan he pictured himself to be.

" **Gear Fourth: Bound Man."**

Mihawk's devilish smile only widened. " **You really are something special, Monkey D. Luffy,"** he said, addressing Luffy by his full name for the first time. All eyes returned to Luffy now as he took his new form.

"Wha-" Pearl began. "He has a Devil Fruit too?!"

Cheers and shouts were being thrown at Luffy as he returned to his original sword stance. For a second, all hope seemed to return as the rubber captain seemed capable to take on the vampiric pirate before them.

All except for Zoro. Deep down inside, he knew that Luffy had no chance. But his Bushido prevented him from doing anything useful but praying his captain would somehow survive.

" **One… One-sword style.."** Luffy huffed as he struggled to find the energy to complete his move **. "Tarantula Crossing..."** he whispered.

Immediately, a flurry of incredibly powerful sword strikes hammered into Mihawk, who managed to fend them off, but not without sliding a few feet back. The effects of the attack, however sent 8 titanic wind slashes careening across the sea around them, rising waves and annihilating anything in their path. Everyone save for Zoro and Sanji nearly flew off the Baratie from the sheer force of the winds.

Mihawk himself slowly brought one hand up to his left cheek. A small gash and very human blood trickled slowly down his face.

" **Wonderful demonstration, Monkey D. Luffy. Well met."** Mihawk said has he noticed the Straw Hat Captain was on the brink of collapsing. The attack appeared too much for his simple sword to take and Mihawk saw the broken shards of it littered across the deck. " **It seems like you can't hold that form for long, but that will only improve with time."**

Just as Mihawk finished his sentence, a sudden gasp escaped Luffy and all the air he held within himself forcefully blasted itself out of his body.

"I spoke too soon, I suppose," Mihawk said, as his demonic form was lost and he himself returned to his original state. "That was an… interesting technique. A sword sings in battle with it's master, however it is a shame that it was a weapon not skill that limited the swordsman today."

A huffing, kneeling Luffy raised his head and stared deep into Mihawk's eyes, sending him flashbacks of what this man was truly capable of.

"Shanks," Mihawk said bluntly, which caught the surprise of Luffy. "You're a lot like him, boy. 'Red-Haired' Shanks. And that's his hat as well, isn't it?"

Luffy nodded as struggled to his feet. In a move that shocked everyone present, Luffy held his arms out wide, with a shattered sword in one hand and an empty spirit in the other. Zoro knew the stance all too well and struggled to stay composed.

"What's this, young king?"

"A broken sword is a broken swordsman. My skills have taken me as far as I'll go this lifetime. Finish it."

"A very lame reasoning if you ask me," Mihawk said as he was about to sheathe his sword when Luffy interrupted.

"Swordsman's code," Luffy said as his gaze bore deep into Mihawk's own.

"So be it then."

Time froze for a split second as Yoru entered one side of Luffy's chest and exited the other. Witnesses were left silent and mouths were held wide open.

"LUFFY!"

* * *

 **A/N: Confession time. I actually have this whole thing storyboarded all the way to Skypiea and I've got some ideas on how I'll do Thriller Bark.**

 **The only thing in the way is laziness.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: An update after only a week?! Shorter chapter but at least you guys don't have to wait 6 months for another one lol.**

 **The Founder**

 **The Butcher**

 **The Firefly**

 **The Prince**

 **The Sea Witch**

 **The** **Anomaly**

 **The Angel**

 **The Battleship**

 **The Gravedigger**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Young King (Relapse II)**

" **Hello?"** Luffy's voice echoed. " **Is there anyone there?"**

All around the rubbery Captain was complete and utter darkness. The empty landscape stretched on for kilometers on end and there was nothing at all save for Luffy himself.

Suddenly, a small spark of orange flickered in the distance. Immediately, Luffy's eyes shot up.

" _ **A fire?"**_ he said to himself as he made out the object in question.

Without hesitating, Luffy sprang to his feet and sprinted towards the light. Every step he took, it made no difference as the light at the end seemed unreachable. As he did, numerous voices came in waves all around him.

" _ **A wound on the back is a swordsman's shame."**_

" _ **I Will Never… Never… Never… Ever Lose Again!"**_

" _ **Luffy… Please Help Me…"**_

" _ **Why would anyone want to be friends with a monster?!"**_

" _ **I love this kingdom!"**_

" _ **God or not, anyone who lays a hand on Nami will not be forgiven!"**_

" _ **I QUIT THIS CREW!"**_

" _ **I WANT TO LIVE!"**_

" _ **Goodbye… Merry…"**_

After what felt like a lifetime of running, Luffy finally arrived in front of a small campfire, it's light illuminating some of the darkness around him. The millions of voices still lingered in his mind as he scanned the nearby area.

"Who are you?" he finally spoke.

At the opposite end of the campfire sat a darkened figure.

"So you've finally come, huh? I believe the real question is, _who are you?_ " spoke the nearly identical man across from him. An older, much more mature Monkey D. Luffy met him eye-for-eye on the wooden log he sat on.

* * *

"LUFFY!" Sanji shouted as Mihawk retracted his blade from the limp body of the former Straw Hat captain.

Mihawk's eyes perked up to meet the cook's and stepped to the side just in time to avoid a blast of flame. When his eyes returned to the cook, he noticed that he had disappeared entirely.

" **Smoke Cleaver!"**

Mihawk hopped backwards just as Sanji's smoke sharpened axe-kick left a large gash where he landed.

"Fire, smoke, and dust powers?" Nami asked out loud. "I thought humans could only possess one devil fruit power at a time!"

"I'm quite curious on that as well," Mihawk said as he entered a defensive stance.

"Sorry, I don't have devil fruit powers," Sanji said as the buckle on his belt flashed red. "But I am wearing my family's weapon-zero belt. I can copy and store up to 2 devil fruit powers at a time."

"You said 2, did you not? So I wonder how you can use 3?" Mihawk asked.

Sanji's legs flared with fire. "I'm just naturally good with heat."

"You too are full of surprises, Vinsmoke Sanji," Mihawk said. A sudden powerful blast of wind sent him crashing through the restaurant entrance, smashing several tables until inertia finally stopped him. "But unfortunately, the seats of power and even the All Blue is out of your reach for the time being."

"Bastard…" Sanji gritted through his teeth as he tried to stand, but only fell back down. "How do you know… my dream?..." he said with his face flat on the ground.

"You should be less concerned about my knowledge, and more about your dying friend."

"Oh shit!" Usopp screamed, suddenly remembering his departing captain. "Luffy!" he cried as he immediately hopped to the lower level next to the limp body. Mihawk made no move to stop him and merely stepped to the side.

His eyes now returned to Zoro with a smile.

Zoro on the other hand glared his old master down with the fury of an angered demon. His face remained stoic, however his eyes held the deepest contempt of any man he had faced second only to Teach. Zoro had enough control over his Haki that it did not reflect onto the landscape around him. Instead, he focussed every ounce of hate, anger, hurt, and betrayal into the mind of Mihawk.

Mihawk merely laughed it off. "I wonder if you are still as tenacious as your old self, one who would do anything no matter how ruthless or evil to protect his crew…"

"What game are you playing?..." Zoro growled. Mihawk simply smirked in response.

The swordsman lifted Yoru into the sky where it pulsated with a red glow.

" **Blood Well"**

The screams of hundreds could be heard around the crew as they watched a legion of red spirits leave the bodies of the defeated Kreig pirates. Even those who weren't dead yet such as Gin and Pearl had their souls ripped from them and their cries faded into nothingness as the life left their bodies.

"What type of monster is he?..." Patty whispered among the wide-mouthed Baratie staff and Straw Hat crew

All of the souls were collected into one floating orb about the size of a cannonball in which Mihawk held in his hand.

"This right here is your 1 up card, so to speak," Mihawk said. "It contains enough life force to fully resuscitate your captain and restore his life into this world."

Zoro gritted his teeth. "At the cost of hundreds of lives..."

"Oh come on," Mihawk moaned. "They are just pirates. Scum of the sea. Their lives mean nothing to you, do they?"

"Nonetheless…" Mihawk smirked. "I believe I saw a little girl with her mother in the brig of the Kreig flagship… I wonder if their souls are collected in the blood well too?"

"MONSTER!" Nami screamed at Mihawk who simply laughed her off again.

"The blood well will dissipate in about 10 minutes, in which all souls will return to their respective hosts, and coincidentally, I would say your captain has around 10 minutes left before he bleeds out." Mihawk laughed.

Mihawk's laugh grew and grew until it echoed across the seas. A red bolt of lightning struck him suddenly, and as quickly as it appeared Mihawk and his boat were gone.

" _Choose carefully,_ _Zoro…"_

* * *

"And I suppose that brings us to where we are now."

Luffy remained silent as he took in everything his older counterpart told him. As he glanced over at the other Luffy, he noticed a few things. His red cardigan was torn in various places, his eyes bled hopelessness, and a giant "x" was burned into the centre of his chest. But through all that, Luffy swore that he saw the reignition of that fighting spirit within those cold, dead eyes at the beginning when they first met.

Luffy stood up. "So what now? I'm dead right?"

The older Luffy gave an empty chuckle. "Not exactly. We are in the state between living and death itself. I'm the one holding back the end, but my powers are reaching its limit. It's only a matter of minutes now."

Luffy sighed as he sat back down across from his counterpart. "It sounds like I had quite the adventure. Even if I didn't experience them directly, I'm glad a version of me did."

For the first time in their meeting, the older Luffy smiled back at him. "Time is up," he said as a white light began enveloping them.

"One last question before you go, Big Luffy," Luffy asked his counterpart. "Did you regret anything in your life?"

"Not a thing," the older Luffy smiled.

The whole landscape around him began shaking as the darkness from before faded away and an endless white world surrounded him. He heard the faint sound of humming and his eyes immediately flew to a small little girl merrily skipping towards him.

 _It was the same little girl he saw at Orange Town!_

"Boop! Reset!" Hana giggled gleefully as she poked Luffy on the forehead. The gesture sent off an echo of orange rings that bounced around the room and the landscape went black again.

"LUFFY!"

And at the sound of his name being called, he flash opened his eyes.

" _Aaaaaaaaand we're online!"_

* * *

Luffy jerked upwards in a sitting position, headbutting Usopp in the process.

"Ah fuck!" Usopp shouted as he pinched his nose in recoil. "I think he broke it!"

"He's up!" Patty shouted with joy as tears fell from his eyes. "Monkey D. Luffy, you magnificent bastard!"

Luffy took a look at the view around him. The Baratie was torn to shreds and it looked like it would take weeks to repair. But amongst it all, were the cheering and hooting of every Baratie chef, waiter, or even customer for those who stayed behind.

Nami stomped over and punched him hard, but immediately enveloped him into a hug with tears in her eyes. "Never do that to us again. Promise us."

Luffy's rubber body ensured that Nami's blow didn't affect him at all, but it offered little protection to her piercing words.

"Promise," he responded as he returned her hug.

The one person that had yet to interact with the revived captain could not move at all. He was too frozen in shock. He swore that it was impossible when a wave of haki washed over the sea as soon as his captain opened his eyes.

Immediately, said eyes flashed over Zoro and a wry smile left him speechless.

" _Kept you waiting, huh?"_

 **-Epilogue-**

Much later in the night, after all the comradery was exchanged over a party hosted by Head Chef Sanji himself, Zoro found himself sitting on the side of his bed.

He did something he only did twice in his life ever.

The first was when he heard news that Kuina died on a very fateful Sunday morning.

The second was when he suffered his only ever true defeat at the hands of Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk.

He cried.

" _What have I become?..."_

Mihawk was not lying. The image of a broken mother holding her crying child in her arms would haunt him for eternity.

* * *

 **A/N: Metal Gear Reference**

 **Citation of earlier quotes**

" **A wound on the back is a swordsman's shame." -Zoro, after losing to Mihawk**

" **I Will Never… Never… Never… Ever Lose Again!"- Again, Zoro after losing to Mihawk**

" **Luffy… Please Help Me…"- Nami asking for Luffy's help at Arlong Park**

" **Why would anyone want to be friends with a monster?!"- Chopper, first meeting with Luffy**

" **I love this kingdom!"- Vivi, following Alabasta**

" **God or not, anyone who lays a hand on Nami will not be forgiven!"- Sanji facing down Enel**

" **I QUIT THIS CREW!"- Usopp, 3rd saddest moment at Water 7**

" **I WANT TO LIVE!"- Robin, 2nd saddest moment at Water 7**

" **Goodbye… Merry…"- Usopp, unanimous saddest moment at Water 7**

 **I might be on hiatus for a while though. I've got a few ideas for a new League of Legends and Final Fantasy XIII project I might work on. But I promise one more update before Christmas lol.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Eyyyyyy, I'm Sharique (pronounced share- eek) and I'm doing intro duties for my main man Levi this time! Today, I'm going to answer a very good question for all y'all!**

 **If you've come across some of Levi's other stories, you may notice that he's given himself the nickname "The Crooked Man." How'd this happen?**

 **For those who don't know, Levi's the halfback for our Uni's varsity football team. A few months ago, he sprained his calf when he got hit going for a touchdown. The dude had to go around in crutches for a week, so the team gave him the nickname "Crooked, old man." Guess the fucker turned it into his fanfic persona after that.**

 **More deadass stories about our favourite Indian-Turkish-American tribrid (more like tryhard lmao) in the footnotes :D**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: The Catch-up (3)**

A few seconds turned into a few minutes which turned into a few hours of complete silence. Night had come and both men merely sat cross-legged on the floor next to each other, leaning against the wooden wall in their room on board the Baratie.

No one really knew what to say. Rather, each comrade's thoughts could be read without a single word being said. Both men had sacrificed for each other enough blood, sweat, and tears to fill the North Blue. And that was without considering the entirety of the Straw Hat Pirate crew.

"So I guess we're really back then, huh?" Luffy finally said, breaking the silence between him and his First-Mate.

"Mmm," came Zoro's response. "It seems that way, Luffy. How much do you remember?"

It was Luffy's turn to be completely silent. "Everything," he finally answered with his head tilted up and his eyes unmoving from the ceiling. From the very moment Zoro agreed to join his crew to his dimming vision shortly before his death at the hands of the Navy, Luffy recalled it all. His hand slowly moved to the new amber scar on the center of his chest, barely a finger in length.

"We won't lose this time, Zoro."

A few more seconds of silence passed before Zoro chuckled lightly. "It's good to have you back, Cap."

* * *

 **The Catch-Up (1)**

"The Straw Hat's alive!" Patty shouted, among the many chefs tossing Luffy above their shoulders. "The bastard is really alive!"

"Alright, put him down, you fuckers," came Sanji. "He's barely been back for 3 minutes and you guys are already throwing him around like pizza dough! Give him some rest!"

"Yes, chef!" the Baratie staff roared in unison, causing Luffy to fall on the deck with an audible "oof."

Sanji's well polished shoes clicked as he strode towards the downed form of Luffy who sat up right away.

A warm smile crossed the head chef's face and an open hand was extended to the cross-legged Luffy. "Thank you for your assistance in fighting off Kreig and Mihawk. Please join us for dinner. On the house."

With a grin mirroring his counterpart, Luffy took the hand.

"Will do, head chef!" he shouted. " _It's good to see you again, Sanji!"_

* * *

 **The Catch-Up (2)**

"The All-Blue?" Nami asked in curiosity. "What's that?"

The most genuine, excited, and sincere smile instantly appeared across Sanji's face. All the waiters loudly groaned and audible sighs of the cooks could be heard from the kitchen. Nami looked on with a smile as Sanji enthusiastically explained the mysteries of the world's greatest fishery.

"And you can find any type of fish there? Even from the North Blue?"

"Not just the North Blue! East, South, West, Grand Line, you name it! It's truly the most wonderful place on all the oceans!"

Luffy and Zoro exchanged grins as Sanji continued to fascinate the Straw Hats with his words, hand gestures, and vibrant personality. Only Usopp seemed… off. Zoro quickly took notice.

"Usopp." The sniper's eyes instantly perked up. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Usopp nodded and Zoro lead him outside of the restaurant. There was no one there on the cool, gentle night of the Baratie deck but them.

"Alright, Usopp. What's going on?"

Usopp remained silent.

"You can tell me whatever is on your mind. It'll stay between-"

"Useless," Usopp suddenly interrupted. Zoro shot him a quizzical look, but that did little to change the sniper's demeanor.

"I was fucking useless when Luffy fought Mihawk. Our Captain almost died and I couldn't do a fucking thing!" Usopp shouted angrily.

"Ahhh, so that's what this is about, isn't it?" Zoro answered.

"You couldn't get involved because of your swordsman's code and Nami is too weak to face people on Mihawk's level. I understand that. But I'm the strongest after you and it is my duty to protect my Captain and I let you all down…" Usopp said, nearly on the brink of tears.

"Guardian of Syrup Village? What the fuck was I thinking deluding myself like that? I couldn't protect my village from the Black Cat Pirates, I could barely protect my Captain when he needed me the most!" Usopp vented as he threw the seastone rifle off his back several yards away from himself. He then let out a long sigh before whispering, "I'm a fucking joke..."

Zoro sympathized with him. He felt the same way when Kizaru attacked the crew at Sabaody only to be "saved" by Kuma. He knew what Usopp was going through.

"Where are we going?" Zoro asked in a challenging tone.

Usopp took notice. "The Grand Line," he responded. "The most dangerous place on the planet."

"Right. Mihawk came from the Grand Line. All strong people come from the Grand Line. We can either accept that fact and wallow in self-pity as they crush us like the tiny ants we are to their wolves."

Zoro paused. He slowly stepped towards the fallen rifle of his comrade.

"Or we can challenge that notion and stand up to whatever force of nature stands our way. As the enemies grow stronger, we will grow stronger, and then they will grow weaker. Soon enough, we'll be the only ones standing at the peak of that mountain as the wolves, looking down at the ants who will challenge us."

He held the rifle out towards Usopp, daring him to take it back.

"You pick your own destiny," Zoro said as his eyes narrowed.

Usopp chuckled lowly as he took the rifle from Zoro's outstretched hands.

"You'd be pretty disappointed in me if I let you down, huh?"

Zoro chuckled in response. "A little."

"Then it's settled!" Usopp shouted as he held his rifle high into the sky. "I'd be a pretty big embarrassment to the Straw Hat flag if I ever gave up, right? Well never again! I promise you now Zoro, I will never give in again! From now on until the day my heart stops bleeding, even when all hope is lost, I will fight to my dying breath! I will never give up again!"

With every passing word, Zoro's smile grew wider and wider.

"I PROMISE YOU, I WILL NEVER… EVER… EVER… EVER GIVE UP AGAIN!"

A few seconds of huffing passed before Usopp locked eyes with Zoro.

"Got a problem with that, King of the Swordsmen?!"

"None whatsoever."

"Good! Let's head back inside! I'm starving!" Usopp shouted as it was his turn to lead Zoro back within the restaurant.

High above on the crow's nest, unknown to the unseeing eye, sat a man who watched the ordeal with a slight smirk on his face. He replaced the straw hat he set aside back on top of his head and then proceeded to follow his 2 crewmates back inside as well.

* * *

 **The Catch-Up (4)**

Sanji and Zoro locked eyes as both had yet to make a move. The atmosphere was tense, but only for Sanji and those spectating the event. Luffy could tell his first-mate didn't take his opponent seriously at all. The apprehensiveness that Zoro once exhibited with his new title had disappeared. Whether he thought he deserved it without a proper duel or not, Zoro had indeed come to terms that he was the world's greatest swordsman. Mihawk's declaration made any debate meaningless and the fact had to be accepted it nevertheless.

But rather than focussing on the fight, Luffy was lost in his own thoughts. He wanted to test something.

Luffy relaxed his mind and the voices of millions poured into his soul. He was once again one with the Voice of All Things and could tap into the language of the universe. As quickly as it was activated, the Voices disappeared into the backdrop of Luffy's mind as he deactivated the ability.

But though his innate abilities were left untouched, the frailty of his body still remained. He remembered that it was merely his soul that was transferred to this reality, not his actual flesh. There was no doubt that he would be as strong as he was the day he planted the Straw Hat flag atop the Red Line, eternally marking his kingdom.

But that had to come with time and patience.

So while Luffy absentmindedly watched the battle about to unfold, his thoughts eventually drifted back to the night before.

* * *

 **The Catch-Up (2.5)**

"Join my crew, Sanji!" Luffy shouted as he downed another mug of alcohol. "We'll help you achieve your dream and we're gonna have fun doing it… probably!"

Sanji chuckled at the Straw Hat Captain's antics. "Very well, I've been waiting for a chance to set out again and make my pops proud. There was just nobody that could keep up with me until now."

"YES!" Luffy shouted as he raised both hands in the air. "WE GOT A COOK!" Usopp and Nami both called for a toast to welcome their new crewmate.

"But on one condition," Sanji interrupted, ending the celebration a bit short. His eyes narrowed at Zoro, whose own perked up in response. "I want to fight your First-Mate."

"What? Why Zoro?" Usopp exclaimed.

"I am eternally grateful that you all fought to protect my restaurant and my staff, that man has yet to raise a finger. Not only did he not partake in any of the defence efforts, but he was willing to let his own Captain die for some stupid code. I need to kick some sense into him first…"

The slow screech of a chair sliding backwards attracted all attention towards Zoro, who merely stood up and strolled towards the exit. His hand lazily rested on his katana as customers and waiting staff alike stepped out of his way.

"If you are so willing to throw your life away, I will make sure your body sinks all the way to the bottom of the ocean…"

And with that, the soft click of the restaurant doors closing illuminated the path forward to the Baratie head chef.

"Oh come on!" Patty shouted in disbelief. "The deck was destroyed just yesterday!"

 **The Catch-Up (Prime)**

Zoro merely drew his sword, feeling its familiar black energy flow through his veins as he expected. This time, rather than actively trying to suppress his sword's power, he let the thoughts in his mind roam free.

The result was similar to the damage he caused earlier in Shelltown. Wisps of tangible black wind openly flew through the air as everyone watched in amazement and an invisible air of tension released held enough gravity for all to physically feel it.

Everyone except for Sanji.

"Another swordsman, huh? Your crew is just filled with them..."

"Show some respect, little tadpole," said Zoro ominously. "You're not facing just any swordsman, you are facing the greatest swordsman in the world."

Sanji responded with his left arm dissipating into smoke and his right arm formed free floating dust particles.

"If you want a taste of what the New World has to offer…" Zoro said, causing murmurs among everybody. Two phantom aspirations formed from the wisps and began circling the body of the swordsman. _A wolf and a lamb._

"...Then consider this a baptism."

* * *

 **A/N: A Mclaren 720s and a 2009 Dodge Caravan drag raced down 21st Street, New York. Guess which car was Lorenzo's? Now guess who challenged who.**

 **Anyways, our favourite little brown boi is working on his other projects (med school is kicking his ass too) so unfortunately, the Sanji and Zoro fight coming up next chapter MAY have to be written by me.**

 **Don't worry, my little blueberries. I got an exceptional 840 on my SAT so I'll be gucci.**


End file.
